First came Roger Federer. Then came Rafael Nadal. And then came Novak Djokovic, who eclipsed them both.
First came Jannik Sinner. Then came Carlos Alcaraz. And yesterday, Joao Fonseca arrived, who has the potential to eclipse both of them as well.
We didn’t think we would see the holy triad of men’s tennis morph again so quickly – if ever.
But on Court Philippe Chatrier yesterday, Fonseca was officially appointed as the third member of the latest triad of tennis superstars by beating none other than Djokovic in one of the greatest matches ever seen in the French capital.
I sat in the fourth row for this epic encounter and watched every point. I was blown away by the level, the focus, the tenacity, and the offensive artillery at Fonseca’s disposal. The 19-year-old Brazilian wielded his forehand like a magic wand. He melted a 181 km/h (112.5 mph) mph forehand passing shot that looked like it was going faster than the Concorde. Djokovic barely had time to blink and must have been thankful it wasn’t directed straight at him. It’s hard to imagine a groundstroke has ever been hit harder in the last 100 years on Court Philippe Chatrier.
As with most epics, there were many shifts in momentum. Many bold moves and counter moves. Fonseca won 164 points. Djokovic won 167. You felt every shot carried enough weight to win or lose the match.
FONSECA GROUNDSTROKES
Forehands: 36 winners / 63 errors
Backhands: 12 winners / 28 errors
DJOKOVIC GROUNDSTROKES
Forehands: 28 winners / 45 errors
Backhands: 19 errors / 48 errors
Djokovic took the honors early.
He broke Fonseca in the opening game and raced to a 5-1 lead by mixing up speeds and height against the young Brazilian. Foniseca wanted the ball right in his strike zone. Djokovic refused to give it to him in the middle of the batter’s box. Instead, he moved back and played high, rolling the ball up around Fonseca’s shoulders, giving him no pace to work with and a contact point above his head. And then Djokovic mixed in deft drop shots that yanked Fonseca to the front of the court.
I saw Andy Murray employ this exact same tactic at Indian Wells in 2021 to defeat a young Carlos Alcaraz 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. Murray controlled the power level and height of the rallies, and Alcaraz was at a loss as to how to deal with it.
The first turning point of yesterday’s match came when Fonseca served at 1-5. Djokovic raced to a 0-40 lead by forcing a serve +1 error, receiving a double fault, and jagging a forehand return winner. You definitely got the feel that Djokovic already had one hand on the trophy for his 25th Grand Slam title.
The marauding Serb enjoyed three set points. A position of great opportunity was about to slip through his hands. The first of many micro-battles that would fall the wrong way for him.
At 39 years of age, Djokovic needed to do everything possible to keep points short and keep his heart rate down. The lactic acid at bay. The average rally length in Set 1 was a speedy 3.85 shots.
On set point one, with Fonseca serving at 0-40, Djokovic jumped all over Fonseca’s pedestrian 152 km/h (94 mph) second serve and uncharacteristically blew it long. It was my first double-take of the match. The first shot chink the Serb’s armor.
The clock read 27 minutes when Djokovic had his first set point with Fonseca serving at 0-40. It read 45 minutes when he finally secured the opening set with a backhand drop shot winner. The problem for Djokovic was that the set took 18 minutes longer than it needed to. Eighteen minutes of unnecessary running and exposure to the brutal heat.
RALLY LENGTH
0-4 Shots: Fonseca 106 / Djokovic 108
5-8 Shots: Fonseca 46 / Djokovic 38
9+ Shots: Fonseca 12 / Djokovic 21
A dream opening set that should have been 6-1 turned into an 18-minute dog fight that he desperately didn’t want to be a part of. Djokovic got within two points of victory in the fourth set and three points from victory in the fifth set. These three games, which lasted 18 unnecessary minutes and included 15 points, were to blame for his loss as much as anything else.
Djokovic broke Fonseca at 2-2 in the second set, but the early warning signs of fatigue were evident. The match was an hour and eight minutes old, and Djokovic led 6-4, 3-2 with a break. The scoreboard indicates that the Serb was dominating during the points. But between the points, the early signs of fatigue were clearly evident. Djokovic closed out set two in 50 minutes, and the race was well and truly on.
Could he close the match before his legs and lungs failed him?
The beginning of the end was in the second game of the third set. Fonseca held for a 1-0 lead, and Djokovic had moved to a 40-30 serving. And then one of the most pivotal points of the match occurred. Out of nowhere, Djokovic went off-speed with a serve and volley point. It was only 156 km/h (97 mph) – the speed of a typical second serve – and didn’t confuse Fonseca at all. He pumped a backhand passing shot down the line, and the collective Chatrier crowd shook their head in disbelief at Djokovic’s desperate tactic.
It failed miserably, and Djokovic was broken a couple of points later when a defensive backhand went into the net going down the line. Djokovic was off balance and clearly fatigued. The failed serve and volley foray forward rattled him.
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Fonseca finally had a sniff, and the adrenaline kicked in, quickly carrying him to a 4-1 lead. He saved a break point at 5-3, 30-40 with a second serve off the line. For the last three sets, Fonseca hit line after line after line, and it clearly got inside Djokovic’s head, as he would continually point out these line shots to his coaching team and sarcastically smile.
By the fourth set, Djokovic was clearly gassed. He was broken in the opening game as he blew a routine backhand long past the baseline. He was able to break back for 2-2 and did all he could to hang in points that were increasingly being controlled by Fonseca’s power and precision.
Djokovic got within two points of victory with Fonseca serving at 4-5, 30-30. Fonseca bravely roped a backhand down the line winner, and Djokovic was again fixated on Fonseca’s ability to hit lines at will.
Djokovic was broken at 5-5 as Fonseca crushed another short forehand for a winner.
Djokovic mentally regrouped at the start of the fifth set and broke Fonseca to love to lead 3-1, but was immediately broken back. Djokovic got within three points of winning the match with Fonseca serving 4-5, 15-15. It wasn’t meant to be. Another opportunity came for the exhausted Djokovic with Fonseca serving 6-5, but down break point at 30-40. Three consecutive aces later, Fonseca staged one of the greatest comebacks in Roland Garros history.
One thing that stood out to me was how cool, calm, and collected Fonseca was in this match from start to finish. I would study his face after he lost points to see if disappointment and anger was bubbling just under the surface. It didn’t happen. His face yielded no negativity – just a quite determination to win this match no matter what.
A new star is born. Fonseca officially came of age in Paris yesterday, forming the holy triad of elite players once again. Carlos, Jannick, and Joao. Just as worthy and just as good as Roger, Rafa, and Novak.