Carlos Alcaraz rises to the occasion in hyped Miami Open second round against Joao Fonseca

Cometh the hour, cometh the Carlos.

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has already made a habit of rising to the occasion in the biggest moments. And the latest example of that came on Friday night in Miami, when he was laser-sharp from first ball to last to top Brazil's Joao Fonseca 6-4, 6-4 inside an electric Hard Rock Stadium.

Alcaraz knew that his top level would be required to beat the world No. 39. who said ahead of the match that his first-ever showdown with Alcaraz would be "special" after he played world No. 2 Jannik Sinner to two tiebreakers in Palm Springs.

Read more: Game on! Carlos Alcaraz wears Brazil shirt to Miami interview before Joao Fonseca clash

“Obviously when someone is going toe to toe with Jannik, that means he had to play great tennis and perform really, really well,” Alcaraz said when asked about Fonseca in Indian Wells. “I couldn't see the full match, but I saw that Joao is playing great tennis. I’m really happy to see Joao playing these kinds of matches, at this kind of level.”

The world No. 1, who put on a listless performance six days ago in losing his first match of the season in the Indian Wells semifinals to Daniil Medvedev, was anything but against the Brazilian to avoid a second-round upset for the second consecutive year. Breaking Fonseca early in each set, Alcaraz saved all three break points he faced, hit 26 winners to 22 unforced errors, and landed almost 70% of his first serves.

"I know how good Joao is, and that's why I was really focused, every point, every shot," Alcaraz said afterwards, agreeing he was "really good in crucial moments."

"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."

The win also improved the Spaniard's record against players younger than him in his professional career to 13-0.

Alcaraz is bidding to win his second title in Miami, having lifted the trophy in 2022.