Daily Dose of Social Media: Alcaraz and Fonseca share respectful moment; Swiatek & Osaka take on Italian-themed prize game

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, WTA stars gathered for a fun game of choice, a ‘two cards, one prize’ challenge, where they chose between two options in search of a typical Italian prize, amidst the Rome Open.

Meanwhile, Jack Draper welcomed his arrival in Rome, while Carlos Alcaraz had a friendly encounter with teen sensation Joao Fonseca. The Spaniard also received a special greeting from his young friend John, the kid who stole the show at the past Australian Open due to his fandom for Alcaraz.

WTA stars participated in a fun game of ‘Two cards, one prize’, where they tried their luck choosing cards to win some typical Italian gifts. The players tried to guess the card that held the prize, and when they didn't succeed, they had to perform a forfeit, also with an Italian theme. Among the players who participated in the challenge were Iga Swiatek, Jasmine Paolini, and Naomi Osaka, among others.

The WTA Rome Open continued with the second round on Thursday, May 8th and Friday, May 9th, where the seeded players who haven't yet played will make their debut, including Aryna Sabalenka, Zheng Qinwen, and Coco Gauff. The tournament is the second WTA 1000 on clay courts and the fifth of the season, and it will serve as a final test before Roland Garros.

Carlos Alcaraz and Joao Fonseca met in the facilities of the Foro Italico while both are competing at the Rome Open. In images shared by Tennis TV on social media, Alcaraz is seen walking after his training and sharing a special greeting with Fonseca and his coach as they took a break. The Brazilian sensation had a tough debut in the tournament, falling to Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 3-6, 6-7, the same opponent who defeated Alcaraz two years ago in the third round of Rome.

Meanwhile, the Spaniard is still waiting to take the court this Friday, where he will face Dusan Lajovic in search of a triumphant return. The Spaniard had to withdraw from the Madrid Open due to physical complications and arrives after a 6-match winning streak, having won the Monte-Carlo Masters title three weeks ago, his 6th Masters 1000 title.

Jack Draper welcomed his arrival at the Rome Open with a photo strolling through the city of Rome while awaiting his debut. The 23-year-old will seek to maintain his impeccable form from recent months and emerges as one of the main favorites for the title. The world No. 5 arrives after reaching the final of the Madrid Open, where he fell to Norwegian Casper Ruud. In any case, he can draw positive conclusions after a couple of weeks of great level on clay courts, also being the only player to have reached two Masters 1000 finals this season out of the four played. In his first appearance, he won the title in Indian Wells.

His debut is scheduled for this Friday, where Draper will face local talent Luciano Darderi, one of the great young Italian hopes, who will be ready to cause an upset in front of his home crowd.

Carlos Alcaraz reacted to the video greeting from his young friend John, who stole hearts at the past Australian Open with his great enthusiasm for the Spaniard. The world No. 3 celebrated his 22nd birthday a few days ago, with congratulatory messages arriving from all over the world.

Precisely one of the most special was from young John from Australia, who was part of a coin toss with Alcaraz at the past Aussie Open, and then the 4-time Grand Slam champion had the remarkable gesture of meeting with the young fan after the match. The boy stole the show with his spontaneous and outgoing personality, and in the greeting, he once again generated smiles. This time, Alcaraz spoke about his reaction to the heartwarming video.

“He’s so cute, I saw it the 5th May on my birthday. So thank you John, I appreciate the message,” commented the Spaniard with a smile after watching the video in Italy.