New Delhi: Novak Djokovic suffered a shocking 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 third-round defeat against the Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca at the French Open
on Friday, May 29. With this defeat, Djokovic’s bid for a 25th Grand Slam title came to an end, further opening up the draw in Paris, just a day after world No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s exit.
Fonseca became the first teenager to defeat the Serbian in an epic Grand Slam clash, which lasted for almost five hours. He dedicated the hard-fought win to his mother, who was celebrating in the stands on her birthday.
After the match, Fonseca said he actually didn’t believe he could win the match, and was just playing and enjoying being on the court. He also thanked Djokovic and said that it was a pleasure for him to step on court against the Serbian.
“I was just trying to hit the ball as fast as I could, I mean Djokovic doesn’t miss and we still think he’s 20. At the end of the match he was more fit than me, which is crazy and when the day was getting darker I felt much slower,” he added.
The moment 🎥#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/IZDmJ8hnfw
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 29, 2026
Djokovic upset by teenager Fonseca
A week after turning 39, Djokovic started the Roland Garros campaign strongly and won the opening two matches comfortably. In the third round, he also won five of the opening six games to clinch the first set at Court Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic played a stunning lob, a couple of heavy forehand winners and two stunning drops during that spell to wrap up the set after Fonseca tried to make a late comeback. The Brazilian teenager went toe-to-toe with the Serbian in the next set, only to drop his serve in the fifth game.
Djokovic took full advantage of that and took control of the set. He went up 5-3 and closed out the set with a brilliant, sharp passing shot through the middle
Fonseca raised his level to win the third set and then broke early in the fourth. He drew huge applause from his fans before levelling the match at two sets each with powerful shots that even surprised Djokovic at times.
The Brazilian came from 1-3 down in the fifth set and remained calm to stay level after 10 games. He then broke for a 6-5 lead, which gave him the perfect opportunity to close out a famous victory with three straight aces. Fonseca will face Tommy Paul or Casper Ruud in the fourth round on Sunday, May 31.
