Joao Fonseca stunned Novak Djokovic in a five hour marathon as he won 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5 to reach the second week of Roland Garros.
The Brazilian played some unbelievable tennis as he came back from two sets down to defeat the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
As for Djokovic, the Serb’s best chance for a historic 25th Grand Slam title ends and he will ponder as to whether his best chance to win another Grand Slam has disappeared.
Fonseca awaits Tommy Paul or Casper Ruud in the fourth round.
The match took time to spark into life as Djokovic asserted his dominance from the first ball against a nervy Fonseca.
The three-time champion tested Fonseca’s patience with some slow ball, inviting the Brazilian to slaughter the ball.
Unfortunately for Fonseca all those shots went long and Djokovic quickly went a double break up at 4-1.
Although Djokovic was hitting the ball with quality, there was no way Fonseca was just going to be second best for the entire match.
As Djokovic tried to conserve energy, Fonseca eliminated those nerves and gained one of the breaks back with some powerful forehands.
However, Djokovic showed great tactical awareness and quality to see out the opening set in 47 minutes.
In the second set, Fonseca settled better and anticipated Djokovic’s returns better with the Brazilian starting to implement his style of play onto the match.
Djokovic naturally responded with some world-class serving and broke Fonseca with ease in the fifth game as the 28th seed couldn’t match the Serb’s level.
Although Fonseca created some momentum late on in the set but it wasn’t enough as Djokovic saved break point in the eighth game and serve out a two set lead.
It looked like it would be a straightforward Djokovic victory but Fonseca had other ideas as he upped the pressure on the Serb.
The Brazilian defeated Dino Prizmic in the last round from two sets down and he was going to give this a good go.
Blistering forehands, more aggressive return positioning and bigger serving saw Fonseca blast through the opening three games as he saved two break points in the third game.
There was minimum pressure from Djokovic as the speed and ferocity of hitting entered a new universe from Fonseca.
In the final game Fonseca had to overcome some adversity but back-to-back aces helped him to the third set as he let out a huge roar in front of a fiery Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The fourth set saw Fonseca carry the momentum as he continued to hit blistering forehand as he broke Djokovic in a long opening game before consolidating for a 2-0 lead.
How would Djokovic respond? Just like champions do. Three games on the bounce as he extended the rallies and took advantage of some overexcitement from the Brazilian.
It was becoming tense. The crowd. Djokovic. Even Fonseca hit a ball into the crowd as the match was turning away from him.
A change in return positioning saw Djokovic gain some joy as he created break point and thought he had the upper hand.
Fonseca would respond by bringing the heat as he constructed three points of the highest quality to hold his nerve and level the fourth set at 4-4.
This match was just increasing in drama and ferocity as Djokovic got the crowd going after holding in a long 15 minute game.
The rallies got more entertaining and the drama was unfolding as more phenomenal power from Fonseca saw the Brazilian break for a 6-5 lead.
It was the wide serve that did the damage for Fonseca as he held serve to take this match to a deciding fifth set.
In the final set there were a number of momentum shifts with Djokovic seizing the momentum in the fourth game as he took a 3-1 lead.
However, back came Fonseca with more ferocious forehands as he deconstructed the Djokovic serve to break immediately back.
The Brazilian then had opportunities to break but some outstanding tennis from Djokovic somehow kept him ahead as he tried to fend off the Fonseca storm.
Djokovic did his best on serve but could not create enough on return to disrupt Fonseca’s game consistently.
In the end it was Fonseca’s dropshots that did the damage as a trio of dropshots secured the break at 6-5 with the Brazilian needing to serve for the match.
The match was far from over as both players were shaking their head in disbelief at the level of quality with Djokovic creating break point.
A trio of aces denied Djokovic a chance at a 25th Grand Slam title as Fonseca secured the biggest win of his life so far.
Djokovic’s wait for a 25th Grand Slam goes on and the inquest will go on if this was his best chance at glory.
As for Fonseca he is into the second week of Roland Garros for the first time in his career as he secured the best win of his career.
Next up for Fonseca will be either Casper Ruud or Tommy Paul on Sunday.
