Miami Open under fire after controversial decision to move Joao Fonseca's match during Jack Draper's Grandstand clash, sparking chaos

Miami Open has come under fire after they made a controversial decision to move Joao Fonseca's match that was scheduled to be played at the Grandstand after Jack Draper's clash. The Brazilian fans had flocked to the Grandstand early but had to leave midway during Draper's clash causing chaos.

18-year-old Fonseca is already a Brazilian sensation drawing a huge flock of fans from his nation. On Saturday, his match against Ugo Humbert was scheduled for the Grandstand after Draper completed his against Jakub Mensik.

Fonseca's fans had already made their way into the Grandstand before the Indian Wells champion played to secure seats for when their nation's young star took the court. However, midway through the second set, it was announced that Fonseca's match was moved to the Stadium court.

The Grandstand erupted with boos and fans started making their way out while the Brit was playing. The commotion grew so loud that the umpire had to halt the match and calm things down.

What made matters worse was that fans would have needed to upgrade their tickets to watch Joao Fonseca on the Stadium court, meaning they would not have been able to see the young star in action unless they paid extra. Fans online were also fuming with these developments.

"Embarrassing from the tournament. No respect for Jack Draper, Mensik, and the fans," one fan wrote.

"Shocking management as per usual," another fan wrote.

"Obviously typical event in Miami," a third fan wrote.

Here are some more fan reactions expressing their frustrations at the controversial decision.

"People have been sitting in the grandstand since 10:30am to watch JF. The organizers decide to change Joao’s game mid other match 👏👏👏👏👏 do you need a PHD to figure that this is a horrible idea?" one fan asked.

"Shame, because the Mensik x Draper match had been brilliant up until that point. Such a mess from the organizers," another fan wrote.

"Disappointing.. the organizers should be ashamed," yet another fan wrote.

Eventually, the Indian Wells champion faced a shock 7-6(2), 7-6(3) upset while Fonseca went on to win his match against Humbert 6-4, 6-3.

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"It's not ideal" - Jack Draper opens up about the crowd's behavior during his Miami Open loss due to Joao Fonseca's match being moved

Joao Fonseca at the Miami Open - Source: Getty

After his loss at the Miami Open against Jakub Mensik, Jack Draper was asked by Sky Sports about his views on the crowd's behavior. The Brit saw their side of things and called Joao Fonseca's match's rescheduling "not ideal."

“I didn't really know what was going on at first. It was getting quite loud and couldn't hear the ball being hit. Those Brazilian fans had been in the stadium waiting for him (Fonseca) to play all day, and then obviously changed the court. It's not ideal. I can understand their frustration and yeah, we had to stop for a little bit,” Jack Draper said.

Further, Draper expressed his hope that the displaced fans were eventually able to find seats, acknowledging the already underwhelming crowd attendance at the tournament.

World No. 7 Jack Draper could fall to 8 if Stefanos Tsitsipas continued advancing in the Miami event. Meanwhile, Joao Fonseca will face a stern test against 10th seed Alex de Minaur in the next round.