Mats Wilander has suggested one thing Joao Fonseca was able to do better than Novak Djokovic in their match at Roland Garros.
Fonseca came from two sets down to beat Djokovic 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
After the match, Djokovic admitted he ‘ran out of gas’ when speaking about the reason why he thinks he lost to Fonseca.
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Wilander has also highlighted something that he thinks Djokovic did not do as well as Fonseca when reacting to the match.
Mats Wilander claims Joao Fonseca was ‘more positive’ than Novak Djokovic
When reflecting on the match for TNT Sports, Wilander was full of praise for Fonseca, who he called the ‘real deal’.
Wilander also praised Fonseca’s positivity on court, which he claimed was used at better times throughout the match than Djokovic.
How many Grand Slam titles will Joao Fonseca win in his career?
What a match!
“I saw him for the first time last year in Phoenix in the Challenger, he beat Sasha [Alexander] Bublik in the final and I thought he was top five material in a couple of years but I wasn’t so sure,” said Wilander. “Now I’ve seen him up live and he did not bow down. He’s the real deal for me.
“He’s got the right mindset. His serve has improved tremendously. There was no way he could hit aces like that last year, but he went for it.
“The forehand is something that’s just out of this world. He can hit it both ways. He can hit it from high up, you can hit it from way down low. I mean, have you seen a better forehand than this?
“Last year, I thought he had a bit of a lull. I thought that he was maybe overplaying a little bit, that he was trying to go for too much. Maybe the hype got to him a little bit. He’d be the only one that would know that, obviously, but I thought he overplayed a little bit. I wasn’t sure about his movement, but now his movement has gotten much better.
“The fact that he can play like this for five sets is unbelievable. He physically is very strong. But the reason I said it was because I think his mind is very strong. He’s very smart, he’s very strong. He loves to compete, and he loves to bring the crowd; he understands the crowd’s support, and he understands how important it is for him. And not just for him, for our sport. It’s massively important to have a South American back at the top.
“I’d say Fonseca was a little bit more positive than Novak. Novak had his moments, but then Novak would keel over, and I think the crowd then went on to Joao [Fonseca]. They were screaming either Joao or Nole, I’m not sure which one, but it seemed like they were doing both. But Fonseca just does it at the right time. He says, ‘yeah, yeah, yeah, give me some love’. Perfect, perfect behaviour. The fans were louder for Fonseca. Maybe the Novak fans are a little bit older in age, and they might be sitting on their hands a little bit more, but definitely the loudest fans were Fonseca fans.
“This is the huge, huge moment, obviously easily the biggest moment, but it’s much bigger than just winning a tennis match when you beat Novak Djokovic. Centre court, Philippe-Chatrier, people are still talking about him, possibly winning his 25th Grand Slam, and then you go out there and you’re down two sets to love again… I mean, that’s two matches in a row that he’s done that.
“So this is the real deal, and he is the real deal for me. The question is how does he react? How does he react off of this big bombshell?”
Have we seen the last of Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros? 😢
What will happen to Novak Djokovic’s ranking after his Roland Garros defeat?
This is Djokovic’s earliest defeat at a Grand Slam tournament since the 2024 US Open, having reached at least the semifinals of the last five previous major tournaments.
Djokovic also reached the semifinals of Roland Garros last year, and as a result he will drop 700 points following his third round defeat in Paris this year.
This currently positions Djokovic at seventh in the live rankings, and he could drop even further depending on other results at Roland Garros.
Djokovic’s new ranking will be particularly significant for Wimbledon, as it impacts his seeding for the grass court major.
After falling out of the top four seeds, it means that Djokovic could play Jannik Sinner from as early as the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
