Joao Fonseca will face Carlos Alcaraz for the very first time in an official match, as they meet in the second round of the Miami Open. And the teenager has admitted that he can’t “respect” the world No. 1 on the match court if he wants to try and win. Brazilian star Fonseca has long been tipped as the next big thing in men’s tennis, and the potential challenger to Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s dominance.

In Indian Wells earlier this month, he finally got the chance to face Sinner on the match court, losing in two close tiebreak sets. Now, he will face Alcaraz for the first time – save for an off-season exhibition they played. And Fonseca knows he must be ruthless if he wants to trouble the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

After losing 7-6 7-6 to Sinner in California last week, the world No. 39 told ATP Media: “I’m going to face Carlos in the same way. Trying to face him as a top-five guy, playing good tennis and trying to respect him. But I can’t respect him on the court.

“I need to face him with the mentality that I can win. I think that’s the mentality and trying to be brave, enjoy the time, enjoy the learning and enjoy the process on court. But of course, I want to win.”

While some players may shudder at the sight of Alcaraz and Sinner’s names in the draw, Fonseca is relishing the challenge of facing both men at back-to-back Masters 1000 tournaments. “I’m going to face this match as an opportunity,” he said after setting up a second-round clash with Alcaraz in Miami.

“Of course, facing Jannik in the last tournament and now Alcaraz is such a great improvement for me as a player and trying to figure out problems. There’s going to be problems… You can play perfect, but these guys are just so good that they can beat you.

“I think I played such a great match against Jannik and I had some opportunities. I am, of course, happy with myself because I gave everything. I played a good match. But I’m focusing on what I needed to do to win this match or win the first set, or what I could do to win the second set as well. Against those guys, it’s always a little detail.”

Fonseca can also rely on the fact that he will have plenty of support at the Hard Rock Stadium, as always. The Brazilian star is a crowd favourite at the Miami Open, especially among Latin American fans, and tournament director James Blake recently claimed Fonseca was “one of one” in Miami, even getting more hype than some bigger names.

During his first-round match against Fabian Marozsan, there were plenty of Brazilian shirts in the stands on the Stadium Court, and some spectators even cheered for Marozsan’s errors and double faults. Alcaraz may well be on the receiving end of some of that when he faces Fonseca on Friday night.