French Open 2026: Shocker! Djokovic knocked out by Brazilian teen Joao Fonseca

Novak Djokovic’s dream of capturing a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title suffered a stunning blow on Friday (May 29) as Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca produced a remarkable comeback to eliminate the Serbian icon out of the French Open in one of the tournament’s most unforgettable upsets. During the match, Djokovic appeared to be control after winning the opening two sets, however, the 19-year-old Fonseca produced a strong comeback to secure a stunning 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 victory on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Djokovic looked firmly in control early on, as the Serbian veteran raced to a 5-1 advantage in the opening set before Fonseca narrowed the gap, but Djokovic held his nerve to close out the set. He then edged the second set 6-4 to move within one set of the last 16.

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But Fonseca’s confidence only grew from there and displayed explosive groundstrokes and elevated his game in the third set to win 6-3 and shift the momentum.

The fourth set turned into a tense battle, as Fonseca grabbed an early break for a 2-0 lead, but Djokovic responded and appeared ready to regain control after surviving a lengthy game at 4-4. Yet the teenager stayed composed under pressure, breaking again at 5-5 before serving out the set to force a deciding fifth.

Djokovic gained the upper hand early in the final set, moving ahead 3-1 as Fonseca briefly looked in pressure, still, the Brazilian showed remarkable resilience and completed an unforgettable comeback after nearly five hours of intense game.

The defeat marked an unwanted milestone for Djokovic, who suffered his first Grand Slam loss to a teenager. The result was even more surprising given the way the tournament draw had opened up following Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal before the event and top-ranked Jannik Sinner’s unexpected exit earlier in the week.

With inputs from agencies