A new grand slam champion will be crowned at the French Open after teenager Joao Fonseca came of age in a thrilling five-set victory over Novak Djokovic.
Jannik Sinner’s stunning defeat on Thursday left Djokovic as the only man in the draw to have won a major title but there will be no 25th slam trophy here for the 39-year-old after he was beaten 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5 by Brazilian Fonseca.
It is just the second time Djokovic has ever lost from two sets up, with the only previous occasion coming here 16 years ago against Jurgen Melzer.
The Serbian has done a remarkable job at defying the sands of time but he could not finish off the irrepressible Fonseca, who looked utterly stunned as he celebrated reaching the fourth round of a slam for the first time.
Asked how he kept believing, Fonseca said: “I actually didn’t. I just played, I just enjoyed being on court, and what a match it was. What an idol we have and it was a pleasure just stepping on court against him.”
It was the first career meeting between Djokovic and the player 20 years his junior.
The rise this year of Spain’s Rafael Jodar has taken some of the attention off the young Brazilian, who was in tears after fighting back from two sets down to beat Dino Prizmic in the previous round.
Fonseca’s bold shot selection has earned him a legion of fans but winning best-of-five set matches is about far more than the spectacular.
He found a foothold in the match from 5-1 down in the first set but the contest appeared to be heading Djokovic’s way when he opened up a two-set lead.
However, Fonseca moved ahead early in the third and Djokovic began shaking out his right wrist and looking affected by the hot, humid conditions.
Had the Serbian taken one of two break points at 4-4 in the fourth set, victory may well have been his but Fonseca stayed true to his attacking philosophy to save them and seized his chance in the 11th game.
Djokovic gave a weary look to the heavens as Fonseca pushed the contest to a fifth, and he vomited at the side of the court after the first game of the decider.
The great champion looked spent yet somehow he kept fighting, but this was Fonseca’s moment and he finished off the victory of his life with three aces in a row.
On Court Simonne Mathieu, Jodar continued his rapid ascent as he fought back from two sets to one down to beat American Alex Michelsen 7-6 (2) 6-7 (5) 4-6 6-3 6-3.
Ranked outside the top 150 at the start of the season, the teenager arrived in Paris as the 27th seed and, following Sinner’s defeat, was remarkably installed as the second favourite in only his second grand slam.
Shouts of ‘Vamos Rafa’ rang around Roland Garros once more two years after Rafael Nadal’s final match on the Paris clay, with Spanish fans blessed by another generational talent in the absence of the injured Carlos Alcaraz.
Jodar celebrated in understated fashion and said: “My mentality is to recover well for my next match. It will be another tough match, so I have to get ready for it, try to give my best level, but (above) all focus on the next match and not think farther than the next match.”
He next takes on veteran compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta, who is through to the last 16 at a slam for the first time in five years.
Czech Jakub Mensik, who dramatically collapsed at the end of a five-set second-round victory and branded the conditions “insane”, looked to be feeling the effects still when he won only five points in the first set against Alex De Minaur.
But he recovered impressively to triumph 0-6 6-2 6-2 6-3 as yet another top-10 seed exited the event.
