As Guga Watches, Fonseca Wins Again in Paris

You couldn’t miss him, sitting in the front row behind the baseline. One of Brazil’s greatest sporting heroes and a three-time Roland-Garros champion. One woman, clad in a Brazil football jersey, stood cheering and shouting his name from the other side of the stadium.

Yes, Gustavo Kuerten was in Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday night, watching the future of Brazilian tennis.

“He’s an idol for our sport and for our country, for his charisma, for how humble he is,” Fonseca said during his on-court interview. “He was here for my first match in Roland-Garros as a junior, and it’s a pleasure to win in front of a very tough opponent in front of him and I’m just very happy.”

Guga, now 49, had plenty to cheer for as Joao Fonseca backed up his five-set victory over Novak Djokovic with another scintilliating performance, a 7-5, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-2 win over two-time finalist Casper Ruud.

It is the year of the young gun in Paris. Three players – 19-year-old Fonseca, 20-year-old Jakub Mensik and 19-year-old Rafa Jodar – aged 20 or younger have reached the quarterfinals at the same Grand Slam this century.

All three were victorious today and will take their shot at emerging as the champion in one of the most open men’s singles Grand Slam draws in two decades, where not a single former Grand Slam champion remains. Fonseca looks more and more like a contender after taking out Ruud with more jaw-dropping power tennis.

Impressively, Fonseca’s body responded well to the rigors of having played two five-setters in the first week. In addition to his epic win over Djokovic from two sets down he also took out Serbia’s Dino
Prizmic from two sets down in the second round.

The Brazilian teen is the first teenager to ever defeat Djokovic at a Grand Slam.

He will face Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals, after the Czech took out Andrey Rublev in five sets on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. Mensik has won multiple five-setters as well, and has spent 13 hours on court through four rounds.

Fonseca has spent 14 hours and 29 minutes in his four rounds.

“I feel tired,” he admitted. “It’s my first time for me, it’s a new experience, getting through to the second week of a Grand Slam. We try to put heart into it, and just focus point by point.”

The two powerhouses will meet for the first time. It may come down to who has more energy left on Tuesday.