Novak Djokovic out of French Open as he suffers huge collapse against Joao Fonseca | Tennis | Sport

Novak Djokovic blew another shot at winning a historic 25th Grand Slam title as he lost to teenage sensation Joao Fonseca from two sets up. The Serbian superstar, 39, was the last Major winner left in the draw following Jannik Sinner’s shock second-round exit on Thursday. But the tournament has been blown wide open after the three-time former champion suffered a 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5 defeat in four hours and 53 minutes.

It’s just the second time in Djokovic’s career that he has won the first two sets of a Grand Slam match but gone on to lose it, making his record 279-2. The only other time he lost from two sets up came against Jurgen Melzer here in 2010. And Fonseca has become the first teenager ever to beat Djokovic at a Grand Slam tournament, aged 19 and nine months.

Djokovic’s third-round defeat means that, as of the end of day six, there are no Grand Slam champions left in the tournament. As well as No.1 seed Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Stan Wawrinka, and Marin Cilic suffered first-round exits. The only former Major finalists left in the draw are now Matteo Berrettini, Alexander Zverev, and Casper Ruud. No matter what, a new champion will be crowned.

Djokovic came out swinging and raced into a 5-1 lead in under half an hour, while Fonseca looked nervous. But the Brazilian teenager thrives on the biggest stages in the most important matches, and he soon found some confidence, saving set points and getting a break back.

He still lost the first two sets as the No. 3 seed looked like the better player, but never shied away from the challenge of beating the 24-time Major champion from a huge deficit.

The 28th seed broke early in set three, and saved three break points over the course of the set to take it and force a fourth as Djokovic looked displeased, telling a camera to give him some space and icing himself down at changeovers on one of the most humid days of the tournament so far.

Fonseca pounced first in set four, but the Serb soon levelled the score, and they both saved a couple more break points. As the 19-year-old serving to stay in the match at 4-5, he twice found himself two points from defeat at 30-30 and deuce. He broke in the next game and then forced a decider as Court Philippe-Chatrier erupted into chants of both men’s names.

Djokovic struck first in the decider, breaking to love, and it felt like the No. 3 was on track for another heroic victory. But Fonseca had nerves of steel and only got better as the match went on. He read almost everything and kept dropshotting the tired 39-year-old, quickly getting back on serve.

The three-time former champion had a lifeline as Fonseca served for it, carving out one final break point opportunity. But the teenager shut the door, hitting three aces in a row to claim victory.

Fonseca then wished his mum a happy birthday and told the crowd: “I actually didn’t believe I could win the match, I just played and enjoyed being in the court. What an idol we have and what a pleasure it was to step on the court against him so I thank him, I am very happy.

“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. In the beginning I was struggling with the heat and not feeling good. I just believed I could do aces, it was crazy. I have never done that before I am super happy that I could finish like this.”

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