The 2026 French Open is certain to be won by a first-time Grand Slam champion, as 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic lost in the third round to 19-year-old rising Brazilian star Joao Fonseca in a thrilling five-set (4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5) match on Court Philippe Chartelier.
The men’s draw started with Carlos Alcaraz being unable to play due to a wrist injury, and although they became the top seed after that, there were many upsets in the early stages. Jannik Sinner’s shocking second round loss — Djokovic appeared to have a clear path to a record-setting 25th major title. Instead, Fonseca watched the second week of this year’s French Open from home with two other top male stars, and Fonseca quickly rose to star status with his classic match performance.
The loss was Djokovic’s first at Roland Garros since 2009, and Fonseca became the first teenage player to defeat a legend at a Grand Slam, where Djokovic had previously won 18-0 against teenage opponents. The match length increased to four hours and 49 minutes, making it the longest of Djokovic’s career at Roland Garros. After the match began in sweltering 90-degree heat, the veteran’s legs wore out as the match dragged on, and the 19-year-old Djokovic seemed to find more strength as the minutes wore on.
A vintage Djokovic won the first two sets of the match, controlling the points and dictating the flow of the match against his opponent 20 years his junior, building a 2-0 advantage. Even when given an escape, he spent the first two sets playing the role of the 24-time Grand Slam champion, flying all over the court and refusing to concede.
But after coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the second round match, Fonseca remained undaunted and found his footing in the third set. The Brazilian began attacking the line by pushing Djokovic deep into the court, relying on strong serves and forehands, frustrating the legend and putting him on the back foot.
Sinner was completely weakened by heat-induced fatigue in his shocking loss, but Djokovic kept fighting, despite tired legs and occasional vomiting, and kept coming closer to victory. In both the third and fourth sets, Djokovic made late charges to end the match, but Fonseca answered every question Djokovic asked.
Djokovic’s dam finally broke in the 11th game of the fifth set. Fonseca drove Djokovic to the baseline the entire match, then hit three sensational drop shot winners to break Djokovic’s serve. The legend could only admire as he watched the serve bounce off the clay. Facing ultimate pressure to serve out the match to avoid a tiebreak, Fonseca was shaky early and forced Djokovic into a break point at 30-40.
He then hit the line with three of the best serves of the match, finishing off Djokovic with three aces and earning rapturous applause from the Parisian crowd, who celebrated the greatest match of all time and the possibility of passing the torch.
Djokovic hugged Fonseca at the net to show his utmost respect for his victory over Fonseca on a warm afternoon in Paris, creating the widest open men’s draw in recent Grand Slam championship memory.
Djokovic’s loss means that neither he, Alcaraz, Sinner nor Rafael Nadal will win a Grand Slam title for the first time since the 2021 US Open, which was won by Daniil Medvedev. It is also the first time since 2004 that Djokovic, Nadal, Alcaraz, Sinner and Roger Federer did not play in the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament.
The only top-10 seeds remaining in the draw are No. 2 Alexander Zverev, No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime and No. 10 Flavio Cobolli, but all still have three rounds to play and none of them have ever won a Grand Slam title. The men’s game has long been dominated by a select few, but with Alcaraz out and the shocking upsets of Sinner and Djokovic in the first week, there will be a new champion at Roland Garros. The door is wide open for someone to make a name for themselves.
