Djokovic, on Friday (May 29), squandered a two-set lead and lost with scores of 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 to Joao Fonseca in the third round of the French Open. The match ended after four hours and 53 minutes.

When Sinner suffered a shock second-round defeat, many thought Djokovic, without the World No.1 and Alcaraz in the draw, could finally reach his 25 Grand Slam tally. But the Serb appeared to struggle physically in the extreme heat and humidity. Fonseca was in awe of the 24-time Grand Slam champion after becoming the first teenager to defeat Djokovic in a Grand Slam event.

The guy just doesn't give up at any time. He's 39, and it feels like he's 20. It's just unbelievable. Like I said in the first two sets, it was difficult for me. I was trying to do something. Nothing was going well. I was missing some opportunities I had and some easy shots. I think in the third set I started putting a little bit more of deep returns and going more aggressive with margin. Became a little bit more solid.

It was Fonseca's first meeting with the Serbian legend. The Brazilian youngster will be playing the fourth round of a Grand Slam event for the first time in his career.

Constructing a little bit better the points. I think staying a little more aggressive with more consistency. Because in the beginning, he was doing a lot of drop shots. Every time he was aggressive, he did drop shots. He was constructing the point very well. For me, it was difficult. I think that was the main point.

The three-time clay-court Major champion failed to make the fourth round of the French Open for the first time since 2009. At the Australian Open this year, after defeating Sinner in the semifinals, Djokovic lost to Alcaraz in four sets.

Joao Fonseca is already tipped by many to become the third guy and join the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner duopoly to form another Big 3. And now, Novak Djokovic said the 19-year-old has the talent to become the next big thing in tennis.

He definitely has the potential. The talent he's got… The firepower… The whole Brazilian nation is cheering him on. Hopefully, he can be the next great thing and win Slams. […] You just have to say well done and congratulate him. Hats off. He just played lights-out tennis. Every time there was a decisive moment, he went for it.

Fonseca will next be up against another player who has played Grand Slam finals. He will lock horns with Casper Ruud, who also overcame a two-set deficit to eliminate Tommy Paul. The Norwegian ace has already played two five-set matches. In his first-round match against Roman Safiullin, he thought he would get a heatstroke but somehow won the match.

Ruud is a three-time Grand Slam finalist, also featuring in the title clash in Paris back in 2022 and 2023, losing both times to Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, respectively. Fonseca will be playing Ruud for the first time in his career.

This is also the second time since the 2024 US Open that Djokovic failed to progress to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament. Last year, he made the semifinals of every Major.

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