Roland Garros: João Fonseca can break 25-year fast in Grand Slams

João Fonseca has been making history, reaching milestones and breaking taboos in this edition of Roland Garros and, if he beats Jakub Mensik this Tuesday (2), the Brazilian could end a 25-year fast.

By reaching the quarterfinals, the 19-year-old from Rio already became the youngest Brazilian to reach this stage of a Grand Slam. Furthermore, a representative of the country has not reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam in men's singles since Guga, in the 2004 edition of Roland Garros.

If we consider the semifinals, this fast is even greater. The last Brazilian to achieve this feat was Guga himself, in 2001, when he won his third French Open championship. Fernando Meligeni also reached the semis, but in 1999.

In the women's singles bracket, Bia Haddad Maia reached the semifinals of Roland Garros in 2023. The Brazilian was eliminated by Iga Swiatek, but she also made history, and ended a 55-year fast, repeating the feat of Maria Esther Bueno.

João Fonseca in the quarterfinals
João Fonseca faces Jakub Mensik this Tuesday (2) in a duel valid for the quarterfinals of Roland Garros. The clay court match will be the last on the Philippe-Chatrier court, the main court of the French Open, and will begin no earlier than 3:15 pm (Brasília time).

During the campaign, João beat Casper Ruud, Novak Djokovic, Dino Prizmic and Luka Pavlovic.

By reaching this stage, the 19-year-old from Rio surpassed a record that belonged to Gustavo Kuerten, known as Guga, who had reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros in 1997, at the age of 20, a campaign that ended with the first of his three titles on Parisian clay.

In addition to breaking the precocity record, João also ended a long absence in Brazilian men's tennis. The last time a representative of the country reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam in men's singles was Guga, at Roland Garros in 2004.

Jakub Mensik, currently number 27 in the ATP rankings, reached the quarter-finals after a huge victory against Russian Andrey Rublev.

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Source: CNN