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Djokovic knocked out of French Open in five-set thriller by 19-year-old Fonseca as de Minaur also exits
Twenty-four-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has been eliminated from Roland Garros after losing an epic five-set battle lasting nearly five hours to 19-year-old Brazilian João Fonseca. Australia's top-ranked player Alex de Minaur also fell in four sets to Czech 26th seed Jakob Mensik.
Roland Garros witnessed one of the most stunning upsets of the 2026 tennis season as Novak Djokovic, holder of twenty-four Grand Slam titles and one of the greatest players the sport has ever produced, was sent packing by a teenager. Nineteen-year-old Brazilian João Fonseca prevailed in an extraordinary five-set contest that stretched across nearly five hours of high-intensity tennis on the Parisian clay, announcing himself on the world stage in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.
It was a day of misery for Australian tennis fans as well. Alex de Minaur, the country's highest-ranked player and the eighth seed in the men's draw, was unable to find an answer to the power and precision of Czech 26th seed Jakob Mensik. After taking the opening set without conceding a game, de Minaur watched helplessly as Mensik seized control of the match and rattled off three consecutive sets to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time in his young career.
The Djokovic defeat will reverberate through the tennis world for days to come. The Serbian maestro, who has defied age and injury to remain competitive at the highest level well into his late thirties, appeared to have the match within his grasp at various stages but could not extinguish the fire burning inside his youthful opponent. Fonseca played with the fearlessness that only a teenager stepping onto a Grand Slam court with nothing to lose can summon, striking winners from every corner of the court.
In the women's draw, four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek delivered a masterclass in clay-court efficiency, dispatching Polish compatriot Magda Linette in straight sets with a scoreline of six games to four in both sets. The defending champion looked composed and unhurried throughout, setting up a fourth-round encounter with Ukrainian fifteenth seed Marta Kostyuk that promises to be a stiffer test of her title credentials.
The early departure of Djokovic blows the men's draw wide open, removing the most decorated player in the field and creating opportunities for younger contenders to stake their claim to a maiden Grand Slam title. For Fonseca, the victory represents a breakthrough moment that will catapult his ranking and establish him as one of the most exciting prospects in world tennis heading into the grass-court season and beyond.