João Fonseca Reaches French Open Quarters, First Brazilian Since Kuerten

BRAZIL · TENNIS

João Fonseca has reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final, beating Casper Ruud in four sets at the French Open on Sunday to become the first Brazilian man in the last eight of a major since Gustavo Kuerten in 2004. The 19-year-old’s run, watched by Kuerten himself, has revived memories of Brazil’s golden era on the Paris clay.

How João Fonseca beat Ruud

Fonseca defeated the 16th-ranked Norwegian by three sets to one, 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, in a fourth-round match that ran close to four hours. Ruud tried to push the young Brazilian deep behind the baseline with high balls to his backhand, but Fonseca repeatedly found openings with his forehand.

The win continued a pattern from earlier rounds, where Fonseca had recovered from two-set deficits to beat Croatia’s Dino Prižmić and then Novak Djokovic. Against Ruud he was more assertive from the start, taking the opening two sets before the Norwegian forced a fourth.

Why João Fonseca’s run matters for Brazil

The quarter-final place makes Fonseca the first Brazilian man to reach that stage of a Grand Slam singles draw since Kuerten, who did so at the French Open in 2004. Kuerten won the Paris title three times, in 1997, 2000 and 2001, and remains the only Brazilian to have topped the world rankings.

Other Brazilians to have reached the men’s quarter-finals in Paris include Thomaz Koch in 1968 and Fernando Meligeni in 1999, the latter going on to the semi-finals. Among Brazilian women, Maria Esther Bueno was runner-up in 1964 and Beatriz Haddad Maia reached the semi-finals in 2023.

Kuerten in the stands

Kuerten followed every point from the stands, and images of the former champion cheering on the teenager became one of the symbols of Fonseca’s campaign. The presence of the man who built his legend on the same clay gave the victory an added resonance.

For Brazilian tennis, the moment reinforced a sense of renewal at the very venue where Kuerten established himself, with a new generation reaching the latter stages of a major for the first time in two decades.

A rapid rise

The run caps a swift ascent for the Rio native, who climbed from outside the top 140 to the top 25 over the course of 2025, winning his first tour title in Buenos Aires and a larger title in Basel. He had previously not gone beyond the third round at a Grand Slam.

At 19, Fonseca joins a list of teenagers to have reached the French Open quarter-finals this century alongside players such as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, a marker of the company his early career now keeps.

The road ahead

Fonseca next meets Jakub Menšík of the Czech Republic, the world number 27, who reached the quarter-finals by beating Russia’s Andrey Rublev. A win would put Fonseca one step from matching the best Brazilian men’s results in Paris.

A place in the semi-finals would make him only the third Brazilian man to reach that stage at the French Open, after Kuerten and Meligeni, extending a campaign that has already exceeded expectations.