Roland Garros Opens Up: Fonseca, Zverev and the Young Guns Reach Quarters
With the favourites falling one by one, Paris has new heroes. Fonseca led Ruud under the lights, while Zverev, Mensik and Jodar already booked their quarter-final spots.
- Joao Fonseca led Casper Ruud 7-5 in the first set of the night session round of 16 match.
- Fonseca knocked out Novak Djokovic in the third round, the first teenager ever to beat him at a Grand Slam.
- Alexander Zverev, Jakub Mensik and Rafael Jodar have already secured their quarter-final places.
- The tournament is without any former champion, with Sinner and Djokovic both out before the round of 16.
Half past ten at night, the lights on over Philippe Chatrier, the stands packed to the last seat, and on court a twenty-year-old who behaves as if he has been playing here for a decade. Joao Fonseca drills his forehand as if he wants to punch through the advertising boards behind the line, Paris roars, and across the net stands Casper Ruud, a man with two Roland Garros finals behind him, looking for the first time that night like the underdog.
The Brazilian took the opening set 7-5, and the match of the day turned into confirmation of what has been hanging over this tournament for days. After the favourites fell, this Roland Garros is no longer a story about big names but about the ones who are only just arriving. In the third round Fonseca did the thing people are still talking about all over Paris: he beat Novak Djokovic and became the first teenager ever to defeat the Serb at a Grand Slam.
Who has already reached the quarters?
While Fonseca did his work under the lights, the top half of the draw emptied out and refilled with new faces. Alexander Zverev, the number two seed, came through without much trouble and booked his eighth quarter-final in Paris. Behind him, the young players made a genuine breakthrough.
- Alexander Zverev beat Jesper de Jong 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-1
- Jakub Mensik knocked out Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(6) for his first Grand Slam quarter-final
- Rafael Jodar came from two sets down to beat Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, also a maiden Grand Slam quarter-final
Jodar is a story of his own this spring. He walked into the tournament on a 19-3 clay run, in full flow, and the comeback from two sets down only underlined how at home he feels on this surface. The women’s draw was no quieter either: through went Mirra Andreeva, the eighth seed, and the experienced Sorana Cirstea.
What comes next on Philippe Chatrier?
If Fonseca sees out the match against Ruud, the draw gets a new favourite from the youngest generation, and Zverev remains the only big name keeping order in the chaos. A tournament without a single former champion is a rare sight, so every further day in Paris carries risk for those used to results and a chance for those still making a name.
With every favourite gone, the focus shifts to a generation tasting the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time, and Fonseca showed tonight that the big matches do not scare him.
Personally, I think this is the moment a new hierarchy is being born on clay, and Fonseca’s evening against Ruud is only the first paragraph of that story. Do you think the Brazilian can carry this tournament all the way, or does Zverev stay the main favourite for the title?
