Miami Open makes significant scheduling decision about Joao Fonseca first round match
· Yahoo Sports
The 2026 Miami Open is barely underway and already dealing with a major challenge that directly affects Brazilian tennis star Joao Fonseca.
The tournament, which officially began on March 16, announced on March 17 that the Stadium Court, capable of seating over 13,000 spectators, is not available for March 18 matches due to weather-related issues. It is a perplexing situation because players were spotted practicing on the Stadium Court on March 17.
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With a full day of Round of 128 matches, that meant logistical maneuvering to move the matches to outer courts which have half the capacity or less.
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How Joao Fonseca is affected
Fonseca, 19, has a massive fanbase that packs any stadium or court he plays on. The atmosphere at his matches is reminscent of World Cup soccer events. Tournament directors have learned the hard way that Fonseca’s matches must be held in larger venues.
The rest of Fonseca’s section of the Miami Open draw has been successfully rescheduled to outer courts on March 18. However, his match against Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan has been pushed back to March 19. The two players met one previous time, on clay in Rome last year. Marozsan prevailed in straight sets: 6-3, 7-6.
Joao Fonseca signs autographs for fans after beating Tommy Paul in their third-round match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Sunday, March 8, 2026.
The winner of the match will play again on March 20; whereas, the rest of the draw has a day off in between.
The other kicker for the Fonseca-Marozsan match winner is he has to play World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the second round on March 20. Alcaraz will be coming off a first round bye. Fonseca has never played Alcaraz. Marozsan has a 1-2 head-to-head record against him.
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Perhaps in the scheme of a two week tournament, this will not be a big deal for Fonseca or Marozsan. It does add stress when the match winner knows he is getting a fresh Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz has not played since the Indian Wells semifinals on Saturday, March 14.
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