Joao Fonseca made the most of his trip to the French Open this year, posting a career-best result at Roland Garros 2026.
The Brazilian booked a place in the quarterfinals, picking up several notable wins along the way.
He also came through a tough four-set battle against Casper Ruud, another former finalist at Roland Garros.
Fonseca has been talked about as tennis’s next big thing for a while now, and Andre Agassi believes he lived up to that billing in Paris.
Andre Agassi shares his thoughts on Joao Fonseca’s impressive showing at Roland Garros
Agassi, speaking on TNT Sports, offered plenty of praise for the young Brazilian: “I mean, watching him play Novak, I think he’s grown up. I mean, he’s 19 years old, you know, but he’s grown into a young man already.
“I think a big match for Joao was that Prizmic match. Second round. He wasn’t playing well, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen Joao from not playing well to, like, figuring out a way on how to just settle in, maybe win ugly, right? And he got through that.
Fonseca is known for his aggressive baseline style and ability to dictate play from the back of the court.
“Normally, he goes out there and either plays well and dominates, or he doesn’t kind of find his game, he’s overcooking balls, but he got through that from two sets down, and I felt like he kind of started the problem solve.
“And then to watch him out there against Novak, he’s never outmatched by any stage, which you’ve got to love.
“And I think Jodar’s been a big, you know, kick in the butt for him. Whether it’s appearing, taking some of the pressure off, whether it’s inspiring him to believe he can do maybe something more, or, you know, whether it’s just straight fear that, oh, no, I might be losing my way.
“Whatever it’s done, I think those two guys will count on each other and need each other moving forward.”
Jodar has had a great 2026 season so far. The Spaniard won this year’s Australian Open title after beating Medvedev in five sets in Melbourne Park final.
Breaking down Joao Fonseca’s 2026 French Open
Fonseca got his Roland Garros run underway with a routine straight-sets win over Luka Pavlovic, easing through the opening round.
The second round looked like it might spell an early exit, as he fell behind by two sets against Dino Prizmic.
But Fonseca managed to turn things around, taking control of the match and finishing strongly to claim victory in five sets.
He followed that up with another comeback win over Djokovic and then took down Ruud to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
His run came to an end in the last eight, where Jakub Mensik proved too strong, winning in straight sets.
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