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The rising talent is pulling the rug out from under the Serbian star’s feet
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, ranked fourth in the world and winner of 24 majors, had an early bye to the French Open after his shock third-round loss to rising Brazilian Joao Fonseca, ranked 30th in the world.
The nearly five-hour marathon match ended with the 19-year-old Fonseca winning 3-2 in straight sets 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 for the biggest win of his career and one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.
Djokovic started the match strongly and forced his way through early, winning the first and second sets by the same scoreline 6-4, looking like he was on his way to a routine victory. But the young Brazilian refused to give up and turned the tables in the third set, which he won 6-3 before narrowly taking the fourth 7-5 to put the match back on top.
The fifth set was a battle of nerves. Djokovic took a 3-1 lead, but Fonseca quickly came back to tie it at 3-3, so it was 5-5.
Fonseca broke Djokovic’s serve for a 6-5 lead in the decider, then found himself a point away from defeat when he was 30-40 down in the twelfth game, but he saved the day with three straight aces to seal the match, the set and the match, to the amazement of Filipe’s fans.
With this victory, Fonseca continues his adventure in Paris, while Djokovic receives a painful blow in his quest to increase his Grand Slam record.
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