Showing courage in Tie-Breaks, the tiebreaker games when the count reaches 6/6, João Fonseca advanced to the third round of the France Open. Faced with a divided and vibrant audience, he surpassed local tennis player Pierre-Huugues Herbert, number 147 of the world, 7/6, 7/6 and 6/4 in 2 hours and 54 minutes.
At the end of the match, the Brazilian cried in the court of Roland Garros. “To thank all the crowd that accompanied me. In the last games, a lot of pressure has come to my side. So I need to thank my team,” he told ESPN.
Unlike the debut, in which he ran over the Polish Hubert Hurkacz, Fonseca did not get such powerful and close to the lines. The Frenchman took the opportunity to balance the game, but in the end he made pairs and errors in right blows at crucial points.
Block 14, the fourth largest of Roland Garros, got its 2,200 full places. The audience was a separate show, with the French majority sometimes silenced by Brazilians, encouraged at times by Fonseca himself to vibrate with him.
Even before the game began, the fans began, with shouts of “John” and “Pierre-Hougies”. Majoritarians, the French sang to the chapel to Marselhesa, national anthem, a minute before the first withdrawal. “Go, Corinthians!” Answered a Brazilian fan.
“Allez, Pierre-Hupuses, Tes Supporters Son Là!” (“Come on, pierre-hubes, their fans are here”), encouraged the local public. “Let’s break!” The Brazilians react.
The two players showed nervousness at times. Fonseca took a deep breath when she needed the second withdrawal. Herbert even made the “Toss” three times in a row, the launch of the ball into the service, causing laughter from the public and himself.
The game
The first set announced easy, when Fonseca broke the French withdrawal in the third game. But the rhythm of the Brazilian fell, he took two service breaks and found himself behind, 4/2. It was Herbert’s turn to make mistakes and Fonseca returned the break. In Tie-Break, the Brazilian drew well and closed on 7/4 with an impressive service measured at 223 km/h at the last point.
The dynamics of the second set was similar to that of the first. After taking a break, Fonseca reacted and returned her. Demonstrating tiredness, the Frenchman was a lot wrong in the setback, but made up for the right -wing winners. “You are at your house, Pierre-Hupuses!” Shouted a supporter. With the stimulus of the public, Herbert saved two set points in the 5/4 and took the game to the 6/6.
In Tie-Break, Herbert opened 3/0. “And one, and two, and three to zero!” Song the fans. Fonseca turned to 4/3 with beautiful unanswered withdrawals, a “contracted” and a return of withdrawal at the French foot. Pulling the choir of Brazilians, Fonseca closed on new 7/4.
In the decisive set, John passed ahead with a break and kept the pace, closing at 6/4.
João Fonseca x Pierre-Huuguesherbert in Numbers
| João Fonseca | x | Pierre-Huguesherbert |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Aces | 12 |
| 8 | Double | 10 |
| 65% | First service | 51% |
| 77% | Point in the 1st Service | 68% |
| 39% | Point in the 2nd Service | 50% |
| 38% | Converted breaks | 44% |
| 34 | Winners | 49 |
| 39 | Forced errors | 44 |
| 26 | Unpreeded errors | 43 |
Source: Roland Garros
Fonseca Iguala Alcaraz
With the victory of this Wednesday (29), Fonseca equals the result achieved at the same age by Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who at 18, in 2021, reached the third round.
One measure of Fonseca’s feat is to compare it with those of other phenomena of similar age tennis. At 18, Carlos Alcaraz reached the third round of Roland Garros (2021); Roger Federer, at the fourth round (2000); And Rafael Nadal was champion two days after completing 19 years (2005), in his first participation in the tournament.
- Carlos Alcaraz At 18: Third round in Roland Garros (2021)
- Roger Federer At 18: Fourth Round in Roland Garros (2000)
- Rafael Nadal At 19: Champion in Roland Garros (2005)
- Novak Djokovic At 18: second round in Roland Garros (2006)
- Guga Kuerten At 19: first round in Roland Garros (1996)
- João Fonseca At 18: Third round in Roland Garros
In the third round, the Brazilian faces the winner of the confrontation tonight between French Gaël Monfils and Briton Jack Draper.
Draper, 23, currently fifth in the world ranking, the best position of his career, is the favorite. But Monfils, 38 years old, 42nd in the world, will have in its favor the support of the public and the enormous experience: the France Open has disputed since 2005. In 2008, it reached the semifinals.
Whatever the opponent of Fonseca, it is certain that he will play the next match in one of Roland Garros’ largest blocks, Philippe-Charier (15,000 people), Suzanne-Lenglen (10,000) and Simonne-Mathieu (5,000). It will be the debut of the Brazilian in these main stages.
João Fonseca in 2025
- Wins: 11
- Defeats: 7
- Main titles: 1 (ATP Buenos Aires)
- Award: 471,694 dollars (R $ 2.7 million)
Disputed tournaments
- Australian open: Fall in the 2nd round
- ATP 250 Buenos Aires: champion
- ATP 500 Rio de Janeiro: Fall in the 1st round
- ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells: Fall in the 2nd round
- Challenger Pheonix: champion
- ATP Masters 1000 Miami: Fall in the 3rd round
- ATP Masters 1000 Madrid: Fall in the 2nd round
- Challenger Estoril: Fall in the 1st round
- ATP Masters 1000 Roma: Fall in the 1st round
Until 29.mai.25
