Jim Courier, like most of the tennis world, remains stunned by what he saw during Joao Fonseca’s win over Novak Djokovic.
After all, the pundit remains hung up on the match, even though the 19-year-old has played and won another since.
However, whilst Fonseca has deservedly stolen all of the praise, Courier was keen to ensure Novak Djokovic got his flowers too.
He even went as far as to make a rather bold claim about his chances at Wimbledon later this year, where the 24-time Grand Slam champion will have genuine belief that it can be the site of his record-breaking 25th triumph.
Jim Courier shares what he learned from Novak Djokovic’s loss to Joao Fonseca
Asked whilst on the TNT Sports panel what he had learned from the Brazilian’s incredible victory over Djokovic, Courier began by focusing on Fonseca.
He stated: “First of all, I learned that the kid’s not going away.
Which player do you want to see win their first Grand Slam at Roland Garros?
Alexander Zverev is the favourite…
“The way that he stepped up at the finish line and stuck the landing with the three bomb aces against not just the greatest player of all time, but the greatest returner of all time. It’s just tough to get the ball by him; ask these guys, they played him a bunch. It’s tough.
“But I also just love that he also understood after the first two sets he’d been playing straight through the centre of the court, trying to blast the ball through Novak.
“Then his backhand started to get some whip. He started to get the ball off the court and open up more area for that nuclear forehand to detonate. And then the drop shots came in. So he flipped the script.
“Novak was the one who was able to move Joao around, and his movement is not a strength just yet, and then the drop shots from Novak were impeccable, as they always are. And Fonseca just sort of flipped that mirror on him and was able to ride it all the way to the finish.”
However, Courier then also outlined another crucial thing he discovered from watching that match, rating Djokovic’s chances at Wimbledon off the back of this event.
He added: “By the way, if Novak plays that level of tennis at Wimbledon with good health, he could win that tournament. He was playing that good. That was championship quality tennis from him, and it wasn’t enough to beat Fonseca.”
Why Novak Djokovic’s early exit at Roland Garros is actually a good thing
Whilst an early exit at the very calibre of tournament he is most eager to win can’t possibly seem like a good thing, there are reasons why Djokovic should feel quietly happy about this loss.
After all, realistically, the clay represents his worst chance of claiming that 25th major.
Grass, on the other hand, is arguably his best.
He is a seven-time champion at Wimbledon, where the conditions are far less physically demanding than those in the French capital.
Have we seen the last of Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros? 😢
This is arguably another reason why Djokovic should skip the entire clay-court season in 2027 entirely.
This loss to Fonseca, whilst tough to take, has afforded him more rest and crucial additional time to prepare for the new surface, where he will head as one of the favourites to push for the title.
