Carlos Alcaraz says Joao Fonseca has all the tools to rise to the top after the world No 1 knocked out the rising Brazilian star 6-4 6-4 in Miami Open second round on Friday.
In the first head-to-head clash at an ATP event between the pair it was Alcaraz who advanced past the 39th-ranked Brazilian in front of raucous crowd eager to see the two young stars square off.
Fonseca has now fallen to Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz in consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events, but his two defeats in March could provide the perfect education for his march towards the top of the rankings.
"I think I was really good in crucial moments. I was really good since the beginning until the last ball. I know how good Joao is, and that's why I was really focused, every point, every shot," said Alcaraz, who saved all three break points he faced.
"I'm just happy to stay calm, to stay positive in those moments. Most of the games, I just served pretty well, which was a really great weapon today for me."
"For him, playing toe to toe with us, I think he and his team are going to get great feedback to know what he should improve in the future," said Alcaraz, who recalled the learning experience of his first match against Rafael Nadal in Madrid in 2021.
"I think he has everything, great shots, a lot of things to improve, but for sure he's going to do it. Back-to-back tournaments playing the No 1 and No 2 in the world I think is going to be really helpful for him."
Next up for the top seed is a third-round meeting with Sebastian Korda. The 32nd-seeded American beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-0 6-3 to open his Miami campaign.
Fonseca holds a career-high ranking of No 25 from last November and currently sits at No 39 in the live rankings.
Unseeded Stefanos Tsitsipas knocked out fifth seed Alex de Minaur 6-3 7-6 (7-3) to reach the third round.
Tsitsipas improved to 12-1 in his career against De Minaur in ATP events.
The Greek won 98 per cent of his first serve points and saved both of the break points he faced on his way to the victory and a clash against Frenchman Arthur Fils in the next round.
Persistent rain forced further scheduling changes, with several matches pushed to Saturday, while world No 1 and newly-crowned Indian Wells champion Aryna Sabalenka was moved to a secondary court to face Ann Li.
Sabalenka survived a stern battle against her American opponent, grinding out a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory to reach the third round as she continued her pursuit of the 'Sunshine Double'.
"I was there, I was fighting no matter what, even though my game probably wasn't the best one that I have," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview.
"She played incredible tennis - she was super aggressive and she served incredibly."
Sabalenka is bidding to become the first player since Ashleigh Barty in 2019 and 2021 to win back-to-back Miami Open crowns (there was no tournament in 2020) and the second woman this decade to do the 'Sunshine Double' after Iga Swiatek in 2022.
She'll face another American in Caty McNally next. The world No 68 followed up an opening win over Rebeka Masarova with a 6-4 1-6 6-0 upset of No 29 seed Wang Xinyu.
Fourth seed Coco Gauff, who was forced out of Indian Wells with injury, battled to a 3-6 6-4 6-3 victory over Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
World No 2 Elena Rybakina continued her tremendous form, defeating her Kazakh compatriot Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-3.
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