Winning Miami Open changes lives: Just ask Alcaraz and Fonseca

MIAMI GARDENS – Winning the Miami Open is often a life-changing achievement for young players.

Just ask world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who is the youngest Miami Open champion in tournament history, winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in 2022 at 18.

“I would say this tournament has something special for the young players,’’ said Alcaraz, who after his win made it into the Top 10 for the first time. “Back in 2022, [winning] my first Masters here, changed it a lot.”

It was Alcaraz’s first of his seven Masters 1000 titles to go with seven Grand Slam singles titles.

Or 19-year-old, Czechian Jakub Mensik, last year’s surprise champion, who at No. 54 was the lowest-ranked male champion in tournament history when he blasted 111 aces en-route to hoisting the Butch Buchholz trophy last year.

“It was a dream come true, playing against my idol [Novak Djokovic] in one of my biggest finals of my career,’’ said Mensik, 20, who’s seeded 12^th this week. “It was truly a special moment and after that big win, of course, a lot of things changed, but everyone wants to become a top tennis player and actually win these types of big titles and go through breakthroughs and compete against the best players in the world.

“At the end of the day there is another weekend, another tournament which you have to be ready for.”

Even teens like Brazilian prodigy Joao Fonseca and Filipino star Alexandra Eala didn’t make it to the finals last year but still received worldwide attention and fame.

Fonseca, 19, garnered attention, mostly in Brazil, when he won the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2024, but it was in Miami, where more than 400,000 of his countrymen live, that they all seemed to be packed into Hard Rock Stadium turning his three matches into a raucous, rock concert with soccer chants throughout.

It was no different Thursday afternoon. The rains finally stopped but Fonseca brought his thunderous strokes to Stadium Court and was able to eke out a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in front of his usual raucous, yellow-clad Brazilian fan club. They were so loud that the chair umpire had to constantly scold them to settle down while Marozsan was serving.

It will be far more difficult to quiet the Brazilians and Hispanics when Alcaraz takes on Fonseca for the first time in Friday night’s blockbuster.

“I hope the crowd is going to be as loud as in this match,’’ Fonseca said. “He can have the crowd in the opening of the match, then for me at the end. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

Fonseca said last year’s Miami run gave him experience in how to handle fame.

Alexandra Eala, now 20 and ranked a career-high No. 29, entered Miami last year on a wild card before enjoying a Cinderella ride to the semifinals in which she stunned No. 5 Madison Keys and then No. 2 Iga Swiatek. No other Filipino had gone that far in a WTA 1000 or been ranked lower than 100.

“I get a lot more exposure now in the public eye, which is such a blessing, of course, to have this support and for me to be able to feel the support in my journey,’’ she said. “It means so much because I really do work so hard and it’s acknowledged and it’s celebrated.

“In terms of my life, this is kind of my first year, being fully on the Tour. Since Miami of last year, I haven’t played a tournament that wasn’t [WTA Tour level]. So, I think professionally, the level that I’m surrounded by has really kicked up a notch. I think that’s pushed me in many different ways. And of course, off the court. I’m recognized a little bit more, which is obviously a very good thing. It means business is good and they like me.”

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