Fonseca fights off Tien, late drama in physical Miami opener

Joao Fonseca made an electric debut at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Thursday when he powered past Learner Tien 6-7(1), 3-6, 6-4 in a thrilling opening-round clash.

Fonseca and Tien showcased their contrasting styles and battled through dramatic momentum swings at Hard Rock Stadium, which resembled a home crowd for the Brazilian. Fonseca’s fans proudly waved their Brazilian flags and chanted his name as he rallied to a physical two-hour, 23-minute victory.

“I knew it was going to be a difficult match. I knew Learner was going to fight until the end, he’s a great fighter. He knows how to play, he’s very smart. So I needed to go until the end and I just went to it hard and the Brazilian crowd was with me today,” said Fonseca, who signed the camera lens, ‘Am I in Brazil?’

Putting on a show 🤩@miamiopen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/8Ov4rR6MO2

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 21, 2025

Leading 3-2 in the decider with a break advantage, Fonseca stood up from the changeover and unexpectedly called the doctor, telling chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani that he felt dizzy and needed to vomit. Fonseca took pills from the doctor and following a six-minute break, he continued the match without any obvious signs of illness.

The late drama continued as Fonseca appeared to suffer from a small cramp just two points from the win. But the teenager wasted no time as he closed out the match and improved to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Tien, whom he beat twice at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, including in the final.

Fonseca came out of the blocks imposing his game on the 19-year-old, ripping the felt off the ball behind both wings and earning a break in the opening game. Tien quickly fought back by absorbing Fonseca’s firepower and hitting his targets with pin-point accuracy. The California native resembled a brick wall in the first-set tie-break, jumping to a 6/0 lead as Fonseca committed uncharacteristic errors.

Tien double faulted on back-to-back points in the second set at 1-2, Deuce, giving Fonseca a break advantage. Throughout the intense clash, the Brazilian strategically opened the court by stretching the lefty to his backhand before unleashing powerful forehands and looking for opportunities to move forward. The Rio de Janeiro native came to net 31 times, converting 22 of those points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

In the youngest main-draw match in Miami since 2016 — when Alexander Zverev beat Michael Mmoh in a battle of 18-year-olds — Fonseca struck 43 winners, including 27 from his lethal forehand.

“I always try to be aggressive with my forehand. When I was younger, I went to my forehand when the important points came and it’d go directly to the fence,” Fonseca said with a laugh. “Now I’m working a little bit more to be aggressive and solid at the same time. In the important points, I go with my forehand where I have confidence. Very happy and proud of myself the way I put in the hard work on court.”

Fonseca arrived in Miami at a career-high No. 60 in the PIF ATP Rankings following a title run at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Phoenix. Boasting a 21-4 season record across all levels, highlighted by his first tour-level title in Buenos Aires, Fonseca will next meet 19th seed Ugo Humbert, who last month won his seventh tour-level crown in Marseille.

What an incredible atmosphere 👏👏
Fonseca and Tien are amazing talents! Tennis isn’t broken after all 😉

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) March 21, 2025

In other action, fellow #NextGenATP player Jakub Mensik overcame Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 after hammering 23 aces and winning 84 per cent of his first-serve points.

Italians Lorenzo Sonego, Matteo Arnaldi and Luciano Darderi all advanced. Sonego, 29, ousted Mariano Navone 7-5, 7-5 to set a second-round clash with third seed Taylor Fritz. Arnaldi overcame Wu Yibing 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 while Darderi raced past Pedro Martinez 6-4, 6-1.

Wild card Coleman Wong defeated German Daniel Altmaier 6-4, 6-3. The Hong Kong native will next face 13th seed Ben Shelton. Roman Safiullin was a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 winner against Jenson Brooksby.