Fonseca becomes the first Brazilian man since Gustavo Kuerten to reach the Roland-Garros quarter-finals, after a four-set survival of Ruud
João Fonseca (No 28), 19, is into the Roland-Garros quarter-finals. He beat two-time Roland-Garros finalist Casper Ruud 7-5, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-2 in 3h 58min, in three sets where the difference came down to single breaks and a 10-8 tie-break in which a disputed line call denied Ruud a set point. In the bottom half, the new wave – Fonseca, Mensik, Jodar – fights it out alongside Zverev for a spot in the final.
Joao Fonseca, Roland-Garros 2026 | © Ch. Caillaud / PsNewz
João Fonseca, the 19-year-old Brazilian 28th seed, beat Norwegian 15th seed and two-time Roland-Garros finalist Casper Ruud 7-5, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday evening – reaching the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career, and becoming the first Brazilian man to reach the last eight of Roland-Garros since Gustavo Kuerten in 2004. In the Open Era, only Kuerten and now Fonseca have done it.
The contest was the Roland-Garros that the tournament’s reputation is built on: nearly four hours of high-quality tennis, three sets decided 7-5 or 7-6, and almost no breaks of serve until the final exchanges. Fonseca took the opening set 7-5 with a single break in the 12th game, after eleven straight games of holds in which Ruud, by his own footing, never quite settled into the rhythm against which he has built his career.
Ruud was so close
The second set was the contest’s defining stretch. Fonseca was broken once, broke straight back, and from 2-2 the set ran on serve to a tie-break that began in Ruud’s favour. The Norwegian led 5-2 in the breaker before Fonseca clawed back to 5-5, surged ahead, was levelled at 7-7 by Ruud, and finally took the breaker 10-8, not without a huge moment of tension.
At 8-7 to Ruud in the second-set tie-break, a Fonseca forehand landed near the baseline. Ruud stopped play and asked the chair umpire to check the mark, arguing the ball was long. The umpire came down from the chair, examined the mark and ruled “I don’t see a space” – meaning the mark touched the line – and awarded the point to Fonseca. Television replays subsequently showed Hawk-Eye placing the ball out. Instead of a 9-7 win for Ruud, the score went to 8-8, and Fonseca closed the breaker 10-8.
The third set followed the same template. Both players held until the 12th game, when Ruud finally found a break to take the set 7-5 – the mirror image of Fonseca’s opening-set break. The fourth, when it arrived, looked for a single game like it might keep going. Then Fonseca broke Ruud on his first service game and broke him again at 1-3 to lead 4-1. From there the Brazilian, playing the most aggressive tennis of the night, ran the set 6-2 to close the match.
It was Fonseca’s third match in three rounds in which the contest’s drama matched the magnitude of the opponent. He came back from two sets down to beat Croatian Dino Prizmic in the second round, and from two sets down again to beat 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the third, becoming the first teenager in history to beat Djokovic at a Grand Slam.
The first since Kuerten
He was the first Brazilian man to reach the second week of a Grand Slam since Thomaz Bellucci in 2010, and the first to a Slam quarter-final since Kuerten 22 years ago. Kuerten himself, watching from the stadium, posted the Brazilian flag from his courtside seat to mark the occasion.
Fonseca will face Czech 26th seed Jakub Mensik in the quarter-finals, the 20-year-old who survived Russian 11th seed Andrey Rublev in five sets earlier on Sunday. Both players are under 21. With Sinner, Djoković and Alcaraz all out of the men’s draw, the bottom half is now contested by three of the youngest players still in the tournament : them two and Jodar, Zverev’s next opponent. The winner reaches a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time in their career. This is the first time that three players under the age of 21 have reached the men’s singles quarter-final at a Grand Slam this century.
Roland-Garros Men’s Singles – 4th Round
JM.Cerundolo vs M.Berrettini – Monday
F.Tiafoe (19) vs M.Arnaldi – Monday
F.Auger-Aliassime (4) vs A.Tabilo – Monday
F.Cobolli (10) vs Z.Svajda – Monday
J.Mensik (26) – A.Rublev (11): 6-3, 7⁸-6⁶, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3
J.Fonseca (28) – C.Ruud (15): 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2
R.Jodar (27) – P.Carreno Busta: 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
A.Zverev (2) – J.De Jong: 7⁷-6³, 6-4, 6-1
