Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca on Friday knocked Novak Djokovic out in the third round of the French Open to scupper the Serbian great’s latest quest for a record 25th Grand Slam.
Taiwan’s Liang En-shuo and Japan’s Shuko Aoyama defeated Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe 7-5, 6-4 in women’s doubles second round.
Fonseca, 19, rallied from two sets down for the second straight match to stun the 39-year-old Djokovic with a phenomenal display of power-hitting.
Photo: Reuters
Fonseca triumphed 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 after four hours and 53 minutes to make the last-16 of a major for the first time.
Asked how he kept believing after falling behind, Fonseca replied: “I actually didn’t.”
“I just kept playing and enjoyed being on court. What an idol we have [in Djokovic] and what a pleasure it was to step on the court against him,” he said. “I was just trying to hit the ball as fast as I could. Djokovic doesn’t miss, and we still think he’s 20.”
Photo: Reuters
Djokovic’s exit comes a day after the shock elimination of world No. 1 and red-hot title favorite Jannik Sinner. It means there would be a first-time men’s Grand Slam champion this year at the French Open, ending a run of nine successive majors won by Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz.
“What an incredible match to be part of,” said Djokovic, who had led by a break early in the final set, but was unable to see it through.
“Huge credit to Joao for really deserving to win the match. Without a doubt, he was the better player in crucial moments,” he said.
Djokovic has been stuck on 24 majors since the 2023 US Open and might not get a better chance to add to that haul. Two-time defending champion Alcaraz was already absent in Paris due to injury.
“You just have to say well done and congratulate him. He played lights-out tennis,” Djokovic said of Fonseca. “I don’t think I’ve done much wrong. He was just better.”
Fonseca is to next play two-time Roland Garros runner-up Casper Ruud, who saved two match points in a 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 win over 24th seed Tommy Paul.
A wide open draw could pave the way for Alexander Zverev to get his hands on an elusive Grand Slam trophy.
Second seed Zverev, a three-time runner-up at the majors including two years ago in Paris, saw off Frenchman Quentin Halys 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in the night session. Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar outlasted Alex Michelsen 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (5/7), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to extend his best Grand Slam run. Dutchman Jesper de Jong took down 13th seed Karen Khachanov in five sets to also reach the last-16 for the first time.
Andrey Rublev beat Nuno Borges in straight sets, while Jakub Mensik dumped out eighth seed Alex de Minaur 0-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
Iga Swiatek booked her place in the last-16 of the women’s draw with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Magda Linette in an all-Polish affair.
Four-time women’s champion Swiatek dug herself out of an early 2-0 hole against the 35th-ranked Linette, who won their most recent meeting at Miami in March.
Swiatek broke three times in the opening set to nose ahead, and then surged into a 4-1 lead in the second set.
She overcame a stumble as she tried to close it out, before sealing victory to set up an intriguing match-up with the in-form Marta Kostyuk.
“It was a good match. I played much better than Miami,” said Swiatek, who moved to appoint Francisco Roig, a longtime coach of Rafael Nadal, in the wake of her loss to Linette two months ago. Kostyuk, the 15th seed, continued her fine run with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic.
She is unbeaten in 15 matches on clay this season following titles in Madrid and Rouen.
“Marta is having a great season. She always had a game to play well,” Swiatek said. “So good for her, but I’m going to focus on myself, prepare tactically, as before any other match.”
Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva swept into the last-16 with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Czech 27th seed Marie Bouzkova.
The eighth-seeded Andreeva goes on to face Swiss world number 170 Jil Teichmann, who sent former French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova packing.
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