Served 5 Setter

Alcaraz vs. Fonseca, Iga's Upset and Miami's $100 Hot Dog

Megan Fernandez

Mar 20, 2026

Welcome to your weekly 5 Setter, an express roundup of all things racquet sports with Producer Mike. In this episode:

Coco’s Firework Arm
Meddy vs. United Airlines & Sabalenka’s Small Army
Miami’s $100 Hot Dog
The WTA Wants Its Privacy
Tiebreak Trivia

Click below to watch today’s 5 Setter on YouTube, and come back here for this week’s bonus stories.

Fonsecaraz? CarJo?

João Fonseca and Carlos Alcaraz at their Miami exhibition last year (Getty Images)

Talk about a Sunshine Double: João Fonseca versus the two best players in the world, for the first time, in back-to-back weeks. After a barn-burner with Jannik Sinner at Indian Wells, Fonseca takes on Carlos Alcaraz tonight in Miami.

The 18-year-old Brazilian is the darling of the Miami Open crowd, and for good reason. Miami Open tournament director James Blake told us this week on Q&Andy that Fonseca is drawing a level of fan intensity unlike anything he saw with Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal in Miami. They packed Hard Rock Stadium for Fonseca’s first-round win yesterday over Fabian Marozan, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2.

Fonseca and Alcaraz have played once before, in a December exhibition in Miami, where Fonseca led 5–0 in the match tiebreak before Alcaraz activated God mode and came back to win.

But on a big stage, with a Brazilian crowd going wild? That’s a different animal entirely.

🍿 More Friday Bangers

Alexander Bublik [10] vs. Matteo Berrettini
Casper Ruud [11] vs. Ethan Quinn
Jack Draper [23] vs. Reilly Opelka
Amanda Anisimova [6] vs. Ajla Tomljanovic
Belinda Bencic [12] vs. Zeynep Sonmez
Naomi Osaka [16] vs. Talia Gibson [Q]

Linette Snaps Swiatek’s 5-Year Streak

Magda Linette of Poland did what 73 other women before her couldn’t do: Beat Iga Swiatek in her opening round at a tournament.

The 34-year-old Linette, ranked No. 50, came back to beat the No. 2 seed 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the second round of the Miami Open. It was Swiatek’s first match of the tournament after receiving a first-round bye.

The last time Swiatek lost an opening match was at the 2021 WTA Finals, to Maria Sakkari in the round-robin draw. In a knockout draw, the streak went back three more months to Cincinnati with a loss to Ons Jabeur.

Linette has changed her forehand “almost completely” with the help of Aga Radwanska, former world No. 2 from Poland, she said at the Tennis Channel desk after the match.

🎤 Magda Linette
“I’m more able to compete with those top players because I’m just playing so much flatter. I don’t really have physicality anymore to run around and spin forehands.”

Linette plays Alexandra Eala in the third round. The next stop for Swiatek is the European clay. Perhaps she can find her old self on her favorite surface. Her statements after the match were blunt.

🎤 Iga Swiatek
“This is the worse nightmare a top tennis player can have. Dropping in matches in level like this. I need to live through this and figure it out.”
“I haven’t felt like this in, I don’t know, probably over 5 years.”
“I feel like I carry a lot of expectations when I’m on the court. I’m a bit confused, but I’ll just work hard to get it back. I know I have it in me. I just lost it for a second.”

No doubt she will. Last season, Swiatek bounced back from the emotional weight of a one-month suspension and a title-less clay season to win Wimbledon. Afterward, she talked with Andy about how she turned it around.

Former World No. 39 Banned for Blood Doping

Marinko Matosevic, a former world No. 39 turned coach, received a four-year ban this week after an independent tribunal found him guilty of five anti-doping violations between 2018 and 2020.

The violations included blood doping and facilitating another player’s blood doping. The Athletic has the full list.

The 40-year-old Australian admitted to receiving a blood transfusion in Mexico in 2018 —“stupidly,” in his own words—and said he retired shortly afterward, partly out of disgust at his own actions.

But Matosevic didn’t go quietly.

In a statement issued before his hearing, he accused the ITIA of being “corrupt and unjust,” claiming the agency built its case on years-old text messages and what he called “made-up laws like intent.” The tribunal dismissed his allegations as without merit.

Spring Breaks for Djokovic and Fritz

Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Miami Open this week with a shoulder injury, and the tennis world had thoughts. Our own JW addressed it in his SI mailbag, offering a measured defense: The moment Djokovic lost to Jack Draper in the Round of 16 at Indian Wells, a former player texted him, “There goes Miami.” Nobody who knows tennis was surprised.

Andy was more direct on Tuesday’s show, pushing back on what he sees as a glaring double standard. Fans and media praise Djokovic for prioritizing majors and family at this stage of his career, then criticize him when he does.

🎤 Andy Roddick
“Those are the same thing. That’s the exact same conversation. ... He’s Novak. He doesn’t need to win Miami. Who gives a shit?”

Hard to argue. The man has 24 Grand Slam titles. At 38, he has earned the right to pick his spots.

Djokovic isn’t the only top player making a calculated health decision right now. Taylor Fritz is using Miami as his own deadline. The world No. 7 has been managing knee tendinitis all season, and he told reporters this week that if things don’t improve after Miami, he may skip the clay-court swing entirely.

The math isn’t complicated. Fritz has just 170 ranking points to defend on clay. But right afterward on grass, he needs to defend 1,300 points—two titles and a Wimbledon semifinal.

It would sting for Claylor fans, but there is a silver lining: more of Fritz’s Q&As on Twitch.

Quick Hits

Remember the name: Moise Kouame. Yesterday, the 17-year-old Frenchman became the youngest man to win a Masters 1000 match since Rafael Nadal in 2003—while fighting off cramps in the final set. His idol Novak Djokovic slid into his DMs afterward with a congratulatory message. Kouame’s response: “I’m so nervous. I don’t know what to answer!” (Tennis.com)
Defending Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik has a secret stats weapon. (Tennis.com)
Pickleball participation grew 23% last year, while tennis jumped 6%, according to a new report from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. (The Dink)
💡 Next fan-week event: the Wrong Hand Slam. ⬇️
jannik sinner files@jannik_files
Jannik Sinner playing left-handed in practice 😭😭 🎥 tennistv
10:07 PM · Mar 17, 2026 · 115K Views
22 Replies · 101 Reposts · 1.53K Likes

The Weekend Draw

Miami Open
ATP/WTA 1000
Miami, Florida

Fri., March 20: men’s and women’s second round
Sat., March 21: men’s second round, women’s third round
Sun., March 22: men’s and women’s third round

Full international WTA and ATP broadcast lists

Q&Andy Recap

Former world No. 4 James Blake answered fan questions this week and gave an unfiltered look at what it really takes to run one of the biggest tournaments in the world, from managing ego-driven player requests to scheduling nightmares. Plus, what he remembers from that classic US Open semifinal with Andre Agassi.

📮Submit a question by emailing askandy@servedmediagroup.com or send it through our website or social media.

Love All Recap

Kim and Blair break down the Sabalenka–Rybakina rivalry, and Kim explains why she asked for her opponent’s press conference transcripts. Also: the coaching culture in Europe, player-led media, Corentin Moutet’s viral racket throw and recommendations for wellness trends and travel gear.

Tiebreak Trivia

In today’s 5 Setter, we talked about the just-released rosters for the next BJK Cup Qualifiers in April, including Iva Jovic making her debut for Team USA. Who was the youngest player to make a Fed Cup or BJK Cup debut?

Answer: Denise Panagopoulou. She was five days shy of her 13th birthday when she played for Greece in 1977. She won her match in three sets.

📝 We’ll be back Tuesday with a new episode. In the meantime, join us on Substack for live chats during the weekend’s biggest matches.