Joao Fonseca hopes to crash the Big 2 party

By Harvey Fialkov / Staff writer

MIAMI GARDENS – Tennis fans, pundits and players are wondering who can turn the Dynamic Duo of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner into the Terrific Trio, like the world has had for nearly two decades with the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Some of the potential candidates are 20-year-old defending Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik of Czechia, 21-year-old flashy Frenchman Arthur Fils, injured 22-year-old Dane Hulger Rune or even crafty 20-year-old American Learner Thien.

However, the true hype machine’s buzz seems to be focusing on 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca as the one with the ‘it’ factor.

It’s Joao as in WOW!

His matches generate more social media clicks than the Kardashians, and he draws more joyous crowds than Taylor Swift (OK, that could be a stretch, but not in downtown Rio de Janeiro or in Miami, home to more than 400,000 Brazilians).

Last year at the Miami Open, Tournament Director James Blake was forced to move Fonseca’s second-round match against then-ranked No. 20 Ugo Humbert from the Grandstand to spacious Hard Rock Stadium. He did so because the boisterous Brazilians were so packed in during the preceding match in preparation of their heroes’ entrance, Blake wanted to avoid a friendly revolt, so the switch was made.

Chants of FON-SAY-CAH or YAY-O!, mixed in with raucous soccer chants of Ole-Ole from the yellow-clad Brazilians rocked Hard Rock in all of his matches.

“A lot of Brazilians [here]. It was important for me, for my development,’’ Fonseca said of adjusting to his sudden thrust into the spotlight. “I’m not very used to it yet, but more than last year. I’m a little bit more prepared for a great moment as well.”

Said Blake: “Harkening back to last year when I learned my lesson that Joao Fonseca needs to be on stadium court. He will be.”

Granted, this is for a player ranked No. 39 but who is on the rise. He has yet to go past the third round of a Grand Slam, but he will soon be knocking on that door.

Fonseca dusted the always tough American, No. 24 Tommy Paul and No. 15 Karen Khachanov to reach the fourth round last week in Indian Wells, before falling to eventual champion and No. 2 Jannik Sinner 7-6, 7-6.

He burst on the scene a year ago at the Australian Open when he notched his only Top 10 win against then No. 9 Andre Rublev in a first-round meeting, after winning the Next Gen ATP Finals in December 2024.

However, if anyone watched Fonseca’s titanic battle with Sinner – who along with Alcaraz has won the last nine Grand Slams – then one could understand how this formidable, charismatic teen could be THE one.

In two taut tiebreak sets, the pair exchanged warp-speed, line-scraping rallies from the baseline and 130-mph serves that even had the radar gun smoking. As he did last year in Miami when the stands in the stadium were practically shaking during his third-round loss to Aussie backboard Alex de Minaur, Fonseca riled the laid-back California fans with long fist pumps after one of his patented missile winners.

After his hard-fought three-set victory here last year, de Minaur, then ranked No.11, scribbled, “Rio Open” on the television camera lens.

“I think he is fearless, likes to go for his shots and is very aggressive with a great mentality,’’ Sinner said last week to the assembled media after winning his sixth Masters 1000 event, including 2024 in Miami.

“He seems like a very humble kid, a humble player. For sure, he’s going to be a very tough player to beat. He’s already very tough to beat, but even in the future, even more so. …  It’s good for the sport having him and Learner, also, very consistent, incredible players.”

At Monday’s roundtable media session in the plush paddock area of Hard Rock Stadium, Fonseca said that consistency is exactly what he needs to advance to the next level.

“The consistency and the level that both of them (Alcaraz and Sinner) are playing is just insane,’’ Fonseca said. “Not only am I saying that, but the Top 5 and Top 10 players are saying that they are on a different level. I’m working really hard to achieve what those guys are doing.

“They can play at a high level for a longer period, and they don’t usually have a weakness so it’s difficult to play against them. You need to serve well; you need to return well; you need to do everything almost perfectly to win. You can’t always be perfect.”

After winning the Next Gen title, Fonseca won two Tour level tournaments in 2025, including a 250 in Buenos Aires where he was treated like a 1964 Beatle, and then on hard courts in Basel (500), Switzerland. He became the third youngest player to win an ATP 500 tournament.

A sore back limited his play to start the 2026 season, but he said Monday that he’s 100 percent fit.

Fonseca has never played Alcaraz in a tour-level match but the two practiced at Wimbledon last year and then played a December exhibition match at loanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins.

However, the men’s draw came out on Monday and the top-seeded Alcaraz will most likely clash with Fonseca in a popcorn second-round match, if the Brazilian could get past Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan, No. 46, who has wins over Top 20 players such as Mensik and Casper Ruud this year.

Alcaraz, whose 16-0 undefeated match streak this year ended in a semifinal loss to a resurgent Russian Daniil Medvedev last week, is also a Fonseca believer.

“When someone is going toe to toe with Jannik, that means he had to play great tennis,’’ said Alcaraz, the top seed here who has his own fanatical Spanish fan base. “I saw that Joao is playing great tennis and I’m really happy to see Joao playing these kind of matches at this kind of level.

“I love seeing the player growing,’’ added Alcaraz, who announced his arrival with his first significant title coming in the 2022 Miami Open when he was just 18 to become the youngest champion here.

“He’s really young and for sure he’s going to learn from this experience. … For sure, we’re going to see more Joao in the future.”

Fonseca seems to agree despite holding, but losing three set points to Sinner last week.

“I think that my level … I can play against them,’’ Fonseca said last week. “I can do great matches but there’s always the little important things you need to work on every day. Those little details are just super important like when he played the important points, how he deals with it. So of course, it’s a lot of experience.”

Fonseca may add to that experience as early as this week with that hopeful date opposite Alcaraz.

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About the Miami Open presented by Itaú

The 2026 Miami Open presented by Itaú will be played March 15 – March 29 at Hard Rock Stadium. The 15-day event is owned and operated by MARI and Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Open is one of nine ATP Masters 1000 Series events on the ATP calendar, a WTA 1000 event on the WTA calendar, and annually hosts the world’s best players, with recent champions including the top players in each tour’s rankings – Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. In 2025, the tournament attracted more than 400,000 spectators over its 15 days at Hard Rock Stadium. Widely regarded as the most glamorous stop on the ATP and WTA calendars, the Miami Open is defined by the city’s vibrant culture, nightlife, five-star dining and hospitality, iconic beaches, and celebrity appeal, along with its close proximity to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

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