Roland Garros, Joao Fonseca returns to surprise: beats Hubert Hurkacz
Tuesday evening on the clay of Roland Garros brings a surprise to tennis fans: Joao Fonseca, number 65 in the ATP rankings, in fact defeated Hubert Hurkacz, who in the world rankings occupies the number 28 position and in Paris was 30th in the seeding. 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 the scoreline in favor of the Brazilian, after one’hour and three quarters of play.
The 2006-born talent is thus back in the news after being eliminated in the third round in Miami, the second round in Madrid and the first round in Rome. Never really in the match, Hurkacz found himself ahead only once, at 1-0 in the first set. The Pole was coming off an excellent tournament in Geneva, where he reached the final (in which, however, Novak Djokovic prevailed).
Winner of the Buenos Aires tournament in 2025, Fonseca had never competed at Roland Garros.
The victory against Hurkacz propels him to the second round, where he will be facing an opponent who is on paper approachable, although more experienced, such as Frenchman Pierre-Hughes Herbert, class of 1991, number 147 in the ATP rankings.
Born in Rio de Janeiro on August 21, 2006, Joao Fonseca made headlines as early as the end of 2024, winning the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, beating Frenchman Luca Van Assche in three sets in the semifinals and American Learner Tien in four fractions in the very final, regaining a one-set disadvantage.
