Carlos Alcaraz confirmed his favoritism over João Fonseca with a more consistent and versatile performance to beat the Brazilian this Friday (20), in the second round of the Master 1000 in Miami. Marked by a few long rallies and dominance in the decisive moments, the duel ended with 2 sets 0 for the Spaniard, with a double 6/4.
Even with signs of reaction, especially in the second set, the 19-year-old Brazilian, 39th in the world, was unable to take advantage of the chances of breaking and ended up being overcome by the greater precision of the leader of the ATP rankings.
Fonseca was looking to become only the third Brazilian to defeat a number 1 seed. The first to achieve the feat was Gustavo Kuerten, who in 1999 overcame then-leader Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the round of 16 of the Rome Masters. In total, the Santa Catarina native faced ranking leaders on five occasions, with three wins and two defeats.
Guga is also linked to another Brazilian victory over a number 1. In 2001, already at the top of the ATP, he was surprised by São Paulo’s Flávio Saretta, then 114th in the world, in the first round of the Brasil Open.
The last Brazilian to face a ranking leader was Thomaz Bellucci. He faced Roger Federer once in this condition and Serbian Novak Djokovic on four occasions, without managing to win in any of them.
