João Fonseca reaches French Open QF

João Fonseca reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the French Open on Monday after beating two-time Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud 7-5, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-2 in Paris. The 19-year-old Brazilian backed up his third-round upset of Novak Djokovic with a four-set win that lasted 3 hours and 58 minutes, according to ATP Tour and Tennis Majors. BBC Sport said the result, combined with Djokovic’s earlier defeat and Iga Świątek’s exit on Sunday, added to a draw that no longer includes a previous singles champion this year. ### How big is this run for Fonseca already? Fonseca, ranked No. 28, is into the last eight of a major for the first time in his career after wins over Djokovic and Ruud in successive matches at Roland Garros. ATP Tour said he beat Djokovic from two sets down on Friday before returning to Court Philippe-Chatrier and closing out Ruud in four sets on Sunday night in Paris. (atptour.com) Tennis Majors said Fonseca became the first Brazilian man since Gustavo Kuerten to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals. BBC Sport described the teenager as showing “title credentials” by following his Djokovic win with another victory over an established clay-court player. (atptour.com) ### What happened against Ruud? Ruud, a two-time finalist in Paris, lost the first two sets by narrow margins before taking the third and then dropping the fourth 6-2. ATP Tour listed the final score as 7-5, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-2, while Tennis Majors put the match time at 3 hours 58 minutes. Roland Garros’ match report said the main question after Fonseca’s five-set win over Djokovic was how he would respond physically and emotionally less than 48 hours later. (tennismajors.com) The tournament website said the answer was “sensationally,” as the Brazilian handled another night match on Philippe-Chatrier and moved through. (atptour.com) ### Why are people tying this to the Djokovic match? Djokovic’s loss to Fonseca had already opened the men’s draw because the Serbian was the only previous men’s singles champion left in the field. BBC Sport said new men’s and women’s champions will be crowned at Roland Garros this year after Świątek, the last former women’s champion remaining, was beaten by Marta Kostyuk 7-5, 6-1 on May 31. (rolandgarros.com) Tennis.com said Fonseca expected attention to build after beating Djokovic and then “topped Ruud for first major QF.” That sequence matters because Ruud is one of the tour’s most proven clay-court players, with two French Open finals already on his record. (bbc.com) ### What does the rest of the draw look like now? Marta Kostyuk’s win over Świątek on Sunday removed the last former women’s champion left in the women’s singles field, according to ESPN and BBC Sport. On the men’s side, ATP Tour and BBC reported that Alexander Zverev also advanced to the quarter-finals. (tennis.com) ESPN’s draw page listed Fonseca’s quarter-final against Jakub Mensik for June 2, with Zverev set to face Rafael Jodar in the same half of the bracket. The men’s semi-final from that section is scheduled for June 5, according to the draw page. June 2 is the next step for Fonseca, with Mensik named as his quarter-final opponent on the Roland Garros draw. (espn.com) The French Open men’s singles final is scheduled for June 7 in Paris. (espn.com)