Iga Swiatek stunned in Miami Open opener; João Fonseca to face Carlos Alcaraz

Iga Swiatek suffered a shock defeat at the Miami Open on Thursday. The world No. 3 lost to Magda Linette 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Swiatek upset and match details

Swiatek’s loss ended a run of 73 straight opening-round wins on the WTA Tour. Her streak dated back to the 2021 WTA Finals.

Linette is ranked world No. 50. She came back after dropping the first set. The Pole won 88 percent of first-serve points in the opening set.

Turning points and stats

Linette survived 30 unforced errors and two missed match points at 5-2. She converted the match on her fourth match point in the ninth game of the decider.

Swiatek said she struggled tactically in the second and third sets. She described tennis as feeling complicated in her head and said recovery will take time.

Alexandra Eala advances

Alexandra Eala beat Laura Siegemund 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-3. The match lasted nearly three and a half hours.

Eala, a Filipino fan favourite, reached a surprise Miami semi-final last year. She will meet Linette in the next round.

João Fonseca to face Carlos Alcaraz

João Fonseca beat Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. The Brazilian teenager will meet world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in round two.

Fonseca is 19 and in his second year on tour. He lost a tight match to Jannik Sinner at Indian Wells last week.

Fonseca’s perspective

Fonseca called the match-up with Alcaraz a great experience. He said facing top players helps him learn how they handle pressure.

He acknowledged Alcaraz as the strong favourite. Fonseca added he must believe he can win to have a chance.

Context on Alcaraz

Alcaraz received a bye into the second round. He had an 18-match winning streak before losing to Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells.

That run included the Australian Open title and completing the career Grand Slam. He became the youngest player to do so at 22 years and 272 days.

Other results

Britain’s Jacob Fearnley retired after losing the first set 6-0 to Martin Damm Jr. on Thursday.

The events were covered by Filmogaz.com. Iga Swiatek stunned in Miami Open opener; João Fonseca to face Carlos Alcaraz are among the headlines to follow.