Fonseca reveals difference he found between Alcaraz & Sinner

19-year-old reacts after facing World No. 1

Joao Fonseca has received a first-class tennis education in his past two tournaments, facing Jannik Sinner in Indian Wells and now Carlos Alcaraz in Miami. While the superstars stand atop the PIF ATP Rankings, the Brazilian found their games different.

“I think Alcaraz has more arsenal than Sinner. Sinner is more like a robot that just kills the ball and does everything perfect,” Fonseca said. “Carlos, he can do everything. He can do with topspin, can fire the ball, he has good movement. Goes to the net. He has everything. It's more difficult to understand the game. He breaks a lot your rhythm.”

Fonseca pushed eventual BNP Paribas Open champion Sinner to two tie-breaks in California, where he had his opportunities against the Italian. But in the Miami Open presented by Itau second round, Alcaraz broke early in both sets to seize control.

“I think Jannik's game helped me to enter the court with no fear, trying to play my game,” Fonseca said. “But I think I didn't got the opportunities that I had, and of course he played good. He's No. 1 in the world. But I need to think about my mistakes and try to improve.”

The reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion explained that Alcaraz broke the rhythm of rallies with slices, topspin, angles and more. It was not a replica of the challenge he faced against Sinner.

“He has most of everything. So you don't know what's coming, and if it's coming serve, serve and volley, if it's going serve wide and do a plus-one shot, you kind of don't know,” Fonseca said. “So that's the difficulty of playing against him. You need to almost play a perfect match.”

Alcaraz was impressed by Fonseca, too. The Spaniard recently delivered plenty of praise for the 19-year-old, but this was the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

“It feels like he can make a winner from everywhere. And that's impressive,” Alcaraz said. “That's what surprised me the most. But at the same time, I know what he's capable of doing. Great shots, great power.”

One year on from a breakthrough performance in Miami, where he reached the third round, Fonseca continues to learn. And who better to learn from than the No. 1 player in the world?

“It was a fun match. Carlos, he played some amazing shots,” Fonseca said. “It was entertaining, and I think was good for the crowd.”

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