Fonseca reaches French Open quarter-finals after defeating Ruud
Brazilian 19-year-old Joao Fonseca defeated 15th seed Casper Ruud 7-5 7-6 (10-8) 5-7 6-2 to reach the French Open quarter-finals, according to a BBC report. The win backed up his third-round victory over Novak Djokovic, which the article notes was the first time he came from two sets down in his previous two matches. Fonseca’s fellow 19-year-old Rafael Jodar and 20-year-old Jakub Mensik also reached the last eight at a major for the first time. Mensik beat 11th seed Andrey Rublev in five sets and will face Fonseca in the quarter-finals. Jodar will play second seed Alexander Zverev, who defeated Jesper de Jong in straight sets. Zverev is described in the article as the title favourite after world number one Jannik Sinner, Djokovic and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz were eliminated. Fonseca credited his performance to playing with heart and focusing point by point.
What’s reported
Fonseca beat Ruud 7-5 7-6 (10-8) 5-7 6-2 to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
He had previously defeated Novak Djokovic in the third round.
Fonseca hit 21 of his 28 groundstroke winners off his forehand.
He saved seven of nine break points and converted four of 13.
Mensik defeated Rublev 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-4 (score inferred from text: “taken to a decider… broke in eighth game of fifth set”) and will face Fonseca.
Jodar beat Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-2.
Zverev beat de Jong 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-1 and is the only top-10 seed left besides Fonseca’s quarter.
Key figures
Joao Fonseca – Brazilian tennis player, aged 19
Casper Ruud – Norwegian tennis player, 15th seed
Novak Djokovic – tennis player (mentioned as Fonseca’s previous opponent)
Rafael Jodar – Spanish tennis player, aged 19
Jakub Mensik – Czech tennis player, aged 20
Andrey Rublev – Russian tennis player, 11th seed
Alexander Zverev – German tennis player, second seed and title favourite
Pablo Carreno Busta – Spanish tennis player
Jesper de Jong – tennis player (ranked over 100 places below Zverev)
Gustavo Kuerten – last Brazilian man to win a Grand Slam singles title (watching Fonseca)
Sources: BBC News
