Joao Fonseca shares what Novak Djokovic told him after sensational French Open upset | Tennis | Sport

Joao Fonseca has revealed that Novak Djokovic wished him luck in Portuguese after he stormed back from two sets down to shock the 24-time Major champion 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5. Aged 19, the Brazilian became the first teenager to beat Djokovic at a Major tournament, and just the second man ever to beat the Serbian superstar from two sets down in a Grand Slam match.

Fonseca’s victory has blown the men’s singles draw wide open. The only other Grand Slam winners in the draw – Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Stan Wawrinka, and Marin Cilic – all lost across the first two rounds. World No. 1 Sinner’s five-set defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo was the biggest surprise of the tournament so far, as he wilted in the heat after waking up feeling unwell.

But the 28th seed caused another seismic upset, and said that Djokovic was the first to congratulate him after he hit three consecutive aces from break point down to claim victory after four hours and 53 minutes.

Fonseca and Djokovic had a warm, lengthy exchange at the net, and the teenager later said: “I think, first of all, it was an amazing match. I mean, for me, just sharing the court with him was an unbelievable experience.

“In the end of the match he just said, ‘Good luck’. Actually, he said in Portuguese. I can’t remember. Now he said something like, ‘Parabens’, which means congrats in Portuguese. He said, ‘Keep it going, good luck’. Yeah, for me it was just a pleasure sharing the court with him.”

Until this week, Fonseca had never come back from two sets down in his career. Now, he’s done it twice. The 19-year-old became emotional after getting a comeback victory over Dino Prizmic in the previous round, but he never expected to beat Djokovic and thought the third seed was “destroying” him early on.

“Actually, I was not even believing myself. I mean, it was tough to play against him in the heat. He was destroying me. I mean, if I hit it hard, the ball was coming back harder. If I would go it higher, he was just doing dropshots and going aggressive,” he explained.

“I just stayed focusing on point by point. Not focusing that I had three more sets to win. I was just thinking, let’s stay, let’s stay. I figured out he was a little bit more tired, and that gave me a little bit more hope. Yeah, I think just stayed.

“Yeah, fourth set, when I won the fourth set, I was already tired. The fifth set was all heart. I couldn’t even think. I was just trying to go. Yeah, I think when I won the third set, I started believing a little bit.”

Fonseca has never made it this far at a Grand Slam tournament before, but with the Roland Garros draw the most open it’s been in decades – definitely since pre-Rafael Nadal – he will like his chances of going far, especially after taking out Djokovic. Still, he is backing some other players to take advantage of the opportunities.

The No. 28 seed added: “That was my first fourth round in my career. I’m just thinking about my next match. The guys are still playing. For now, I’m just enjoying the moment. You know, I think just ten minutes after the match I could realise a little bit what I did, what I achieved, how difficult it was, and how amazing it was for me. Yeah, I’m just in the fourth round.

“Of course, Jannik and Djokovic out, there’s more chances for the guys that are more time on tour, like Sascha [Zverev], Casper [Ruud], or whatever. I’m just focusing match by match. For me, it was a great achievement just being able to play my first time round of 16. I’m just going to enjoy the moment.”

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