Novak Djokovic was stunned in the third round by Brazil's Joao Fonseca in the French Open 2026 as the Serb lost a marathon game 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 on Friday, May 29. Djokovic was in pursuit of his 25th Grand Slam title; however, his wait continued as he suffered his earliest exit from Roland Garros since 2009.
Djokovic was unsure when asked about his future in Paris. "I don’t know," Djokovic replied when asked whether he would be back next year. The Serb had a chance to get to his much-awaited 25th Grand Slam title after Jannik Sinner was also shocked by 56th-ranked Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round.
Moreover, Carlos Alcaraz was already missing the Major due to a wrist injury. When asked what might have been in the two stars' absence, the 39-year-old was in no mood to reflect on it. "I don’t care. I don’t care. I’ll stop you right there. No. Just lost the third round. Let’s just talk about something else," he said.
Djokovic congratulates Fonseca for title
Meanwhile, Djokovic has been reaching at least the semifinals of his past five Majors. He had defeated Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinal but lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the title clash. He heaped praise on Fonseca for his meltdown as he crashed out before the quarterfinals at Paris for the first time since 2009. "I congratulated him and told him that he deserved to win and played an unbelievable match, and he should be proud of himself," said Djokovic.
"The kind of level of tennis we’ve seen him play created a lot of hype around him, and I think we’ve all seen today why there is hype around him. The level was amazing. I don’t think I’ve done too much wrong with my game. It’s just that he was just better. I think I was playing good tennis, really good level."
New Grand Slam champion guaranteed
A new Grand Slam champion will be crowned at Roland Garros after all the Major winners have crashed out of the tournament. After Alcaraz's withdrawal, Djokovic (24), Sinner (4), Stan Wawrinka (3) and Marin Cilic (1) entered the French Open as the only Grand Slam champions. Now only three Major finalists remain in Alexander Zverev (3 finals), Casper Ruud (3 finals) and Matteo Berrettini (1), as a new winner will be crowned.
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