Promise faces legend: the third round of Roland Garros holds this Friday (29) a clash of generations between João Fonseca, 19, and Novak Djokovic, 39, a dream duel for the Brazilian, eager to “live this experience” before the Serb’s retirement. The match will be on the main court in Paris and should start after 10:30 am (the exact start time depends on how long it will take to finish the previous game).
“My plan after retirement is to coach Fonseca, I’m going to demand a lot from him, so get ready!” Djokovic joked last year at the US Open.
It will have to wait. For now, the most decorated tennis player in history, with 24 Grand Slam titles, has not yet finished writing his legend, with a 25th major trophy in mind, an objective he is pursuing in Paris.
At stake, a place in the round of 16, against Casper Ruud or Tommy Paul.
A “great pleasure” for João Fonseca, who expected nothing else: “I always told my coach that I wanted to be in Novak’s bracket, because I know that this (the Serb’s career) won’t last much longer, so I just want to live this experience in my life”, he explained at a press conference on Wednesday.
The young tennis player from Rio expressed enormous admiration for the Serbian, already close to 40 years old.
“I’m going to enjoy every moment playing against an idol, the GOAT (greatest player of all time) of this sport.”
‘He inspired me’
“The story that Djokovic wrote is simply incredible,” he said of the man with 101 titles.
“He inspired me. He inspired the next generation and the generation before. Of course I will respect him, but I will try to do the best I can and win,” he added.
Fonseca is competing in his second Roland Garros this year and will try, against the three-time champion in Paris, to go further than in 2025, when he lost to the British Jack Draper in the third round.
Djokovic also praised João Fonseca: “He has been very praised these last two years… I think his potential and his qualities as a tennis player are evident, there is no doubt.”
The Serb also knows that Fonseca will be able to count on “great Brazilian support” in the stands.
Nothing that will shake the legend, who feeds on contrary winds, like in the first two rounds against the French Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Valentin Royer, matches he won in four sets on a central court completely favorable to the home tennis players.
Djokovic sees in Fonseca “a player of great occasions”, who “really enjoys these moments”.
“He can perfectly throw big shots and play a great game,” he predicts.
The heat wave, the other opponent
In the midst of a heat wave, which has been testing the tennis players’ physique since the beginning of the tournament, the state of physical freshness will also be decisive, especially taking into account that the match is scheduled for the daytime, in the third game on the Central Court.
After a “grueling” match on Wednesday, the Serb highlighted the difficulty of playing in “very complicated conditions”.
He knows that Friday will be “again an extremely hot day”, while the French meteorological agency predicts an end to this early episode of heat on Sunday.
Fonseca, in turn, was calm about his physical condition after his intense five-set battle against Dino Prizmic, a 20-year-old Croatian and world number 72.
“Physically I held up well and managed to turn things around after being two sets down”, he said about his reaction in the match.
The Brazilian, who had eliminated Frenchman Luka Pavlovic in three sets in the first round, spent 5h41 on clay in two games, almost an hour less than Djokovic (6h35).
In the cauldron of Central Court, where number 1 Jannik Sinner said goodbye this Thursday, this extra freshness could be precious when it comes to challenging the master of time, who, however, is beginning to feel the weight of age.
