In the third round of the men’s singles competition in Paris, Joao Fonseca survived a 4 hour and 53 minute tennis marathon and defeated Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic (ATP-4) with a score of 4:6, 4:6, 6:3, 7:5, 7:5.
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This is only the second time in the 39-year-old veteran’s career that he has lost after having a two-set lead. Until now, the only time this had been done was by Austrian Jurgen Melzer, who achieved it at these Roland Garros courts 16 years ago.
The Brazilian tennis megatalent was on the brink of elimination several times in this match. In the fourth set, he was down 3:4 and 15:40 on serve, and in the fifth set, he was the first to lose his serve and trailed 1:3.
However, more than twice as young as his titled opponent, J. Fonseca preserved more energy, played fearless tennis, and surprised even himself in the final stretch – serving three consecutive unreturnable aces.
“I felt like John Isner. This is the first time in my career that I have served three aces in a row!” the young man smiled.
For the South American, this is only his second career victory against a Top 10 opponent – the first was achieved at the 2025 Australian Open against Andrey Rublev.
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Although J. Fonseca already has two ATP trophies to his name, this is the first time in his career that he has reached the Grand Slam round of 16, where he will face Casper Ruud (ATP-16) or Tommy Paul (ATP-21).
24-time Grand Slam champion N. Djokovic last fell this early in such category tournaments in 2024 in New York, when he lost in the third round to Alexei Popyrin.
The Serbian’s exit means that a new Grand Slam champion will undoubtedly be crowned in Paris this year, and all eyes are now on the world No. 3 Alexander Zverev.
By the way, this is the first time in the Open Era that no former Grand Slam champion has reached even the round of 16. There were five here – N. Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Čilić, and Daniil Medvedev.
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