Novak Djokovic’s Proposal: Joao Fonseca Responds in No Uncertain Terms, Sparking Controversy

Joao Fonseca is at the center of a social media storm following his candid response to Novak Djokovic, who in recent days had proposed a series of changes to make tennis more appealing. The Serbian star had floated the idea of a new match format, with sets played to the best of four games, thereby shortening them and making them “less boring” for the general public.

The idea sparked a flurry of reactions, including one from the rising Brazilian star, who rejected the proposal and took a jab at Novak: “To be honest, I played really well even in the four-game sets at the Next Gen Finals, so I can’t complain. But I think Novak says that because of his physical condition… because he’s getting older…,” he said with a laugh. The comment went viral on social media, sparking a buzz among fans.

“Besides that, I think six-game sets are part of the history of this sport. It’s classic tennis, and I think it’s important to preserve this tradition. Although, as I said, I’ve also had good results with the other format,” the 19-year-old player said after his victory over Tsitsipas.

Djokovic’s proposal was made during an interview with YouTuber Nick Coutratos, known as “Nick Knows Ball”: “I think it’s time to change the scoring system,” the Serbian explained. “Ideally, a set would be won by taking four games, with no deuce points within the game itself. This way, all matches could be played best-of-five sets, and no match would last more than two hours. It would be a more sustainable system—a win-win for everyone.” As Fonseca himself pointed out, this format already exists at the Next Gen Finals—the tournament reserved for the top Under-20 players on the ATP Tour—where matches are played best-of-five sets, with sets won by the first player to four games, no advantage at 40-40, and a tiebreak at 3-3.