Joao Fonseca Shares an Emotional Hug With his Team After Beating Novak Djokovic in a Roland Garros Thriller

Friday (May 29) will forever be etched in Joao Fonseca’s memory – the day the Brazilian teenager defeated one of the greatest tennis players, Novak Djokovic, at Roland Garros. He came from two sets down to beat Djokovic in the third round, a match he was the least favorite to win, and he celebrated the triumph with his team in tears.

Having struggled this season with two injuries, there was nothing much to expect from Fonseca at the French Open. He had won just one match in Madrid and Rome, and his critics repeatedly emphasized that he was over hyped. The 19-year-old’s last win before the Roland Garros came at the Munich Open in April.

Fonseca faced Djokovic in the third round, a tie the Serbian legend was favored to win quite easily. And the 39-year-old looked set to claim the victory after two sets and was the better player for most of the match, but the Brazilian star raised his game in the third set and made sure to drag the tie to four sets at Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Fonseca was just five points from defeat when he served at 3-4 (15/40) in the fourth set. Djokovic was at the top of his game at that moment and full of confidence, but the 28th seed fended off two break points and rode with the momentum to force a decider. Djokovic, at times, appeared to be struggling physically between points, but he nonetheless quickly broke Fonseca in the fifth set.

With a 3-1 lead in favor of Djokovic, he was ready to serve and extend his lead, but yet again Fonseca fought back, winning six of the final eight games to notch a famous 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 triumph that lasted four hours and 53 minutes. It was the second biggest upset in Paris, just after Jannik Sinner‘s exit to Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Thursday (May 28).

Fonseca’s win was his first triumph against a top-5 opponent on tour and his second top-10 win of his career. After the match, he was seen in a video posted on social media walking to the gym room at Court Philippe-Chatrier, where he met his team and hugged them tightly, tears welling up as they celebrated the victory emotionally.

Emotional scenes with João Fonseca and his team after his win over Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros.

Can’t hold back the tears… and he shouldn’t.

Simply beautiful.

🇧🇷🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 pic.twitter.com/HACTtfPshZ

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 29, 2026

With this win, Fonseca becomes the first teenager to beat Djokovic at a Grand Slam event. Now, he’s in the fourth round of a major tournament for the first time in his career. With Djokovic and Sinner out of the competition, the two-time ATP title winner will fancy his chances of having a good run at the French Open.

Novak Djokovic praises Joao Fonseca after loss at the French Open

The last time Novak Djokovic crashed out of a Grand Slam event in the third round was at the 2024 US Open, where he lost to Alexei Popyrin. The 39-year-old made sure after that defeat to reach five consecutive major tournament semi-finals. He was the second favorite to win the French Open and became the top favorite to claim the championship after Jannik Sinner’s shocking exit.

But things didn’t go as expected for Djokovic, who arrived in Paris without a clay-court win this season. He lost to Joao Fonseca despite leading in two sets and being five points away from victory in the fourth set. However, he took time to praise the 19-year-old sensation, stressing that he’s worth the hype:

Well, of course, I congratulated him and told him that he deserved to win and played an unbelievable match, and he should be proud of himself. Wishing him good luck for the rest of the tournament. The kind of level of tennis we’ve seen him play created a lot of hype around him, and I think we’ve all seen today why there is hype around him. So, yeah, just the level was amazing.

Djokovic is edging closer to retirement, but he might feel emotionally hurt for not taking his chances at the French Open, which, if he had gone on to win, would have further cemented his place as the greatest player of all time. Nonetheless, he’s expected to be back on the court next month for the Wimbledon Championships.

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