The unprecedented duel between João Fonseca and Carlos Alcaraz, in the exhibition match the day before yesterday in Miami, fulfilled the expectations of a possible great rivalry in the near future. With points that sent the public into delirium, the Brazilian almost surprised the world number 1, who raised his level in the super tie-break to confirm his favoritism and win by 2 sets to 1 (7/5, 2/6 and 10 to 8).
In the final game, João seemed headed for victory as he opened the score 5-0, but couldn’t handle Alcaraz’s barrage of winners. The turnaround in the duel showed that there is still a difference in level between the 19-year-old Brazilian and the 22-year-old Spaniard, with more experience under his belt. Even though João didn’t let it go cheap, Alcaraz kept the match on the back burner until he turned on the turbo when he needed to.
On the counter match point, João tried to shorten the rally and lost patience by risking a parallel backhand. If they want to achieve more success, they will need to reduce the number of unforced errors in their offensive style.
Another area where the young tennis player will have to improve is the variation of his game. If Alcaraz struggled to improve his serve at the start of his career, the Brazilian still exaggerates with his shots, instead of using more spin or resorting to the slice to stay firm during rallies.
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