João Fonseca, who turned nineteen only months ago, defeated Novak Djokovic 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 in a match that lasted four hours and fifty-three minutes and that appeared, at several points, to be heading in an entirely different direction. Djokovic had led by two sets and had been widely expected, by virtue of his unrivalled experience in such situations, to find a way through — as he has done so many times before on Court Philippe-Chatrier. That he did not is a measure both of his current physical condition and of the exceptional quality that Fonseca was able to produce when it mattered most. The match took a particularly dramatic turn when Djokovic, visibly exhausted and moving with evident discomfort, vomited on the clay near the umpire's chair in the fourth set.

It was later acknowledged by Djokovic himself that a three-month injury layoff, followed almost immediately by participation in a physically demanding grand slam on a surface that requires considerable time to readjust to, had left him short of where he needed to be. "Considering I was injured for three months and trying to come back and then going pretty much straight into a grand slam on this surface," he said, the limitations of his preparation were evident. Fonseca, by contrast, appeared to grow in stature as the match extended. It is only the second occasion on which Djokovic has surrendered a two-set lead, the first having occurred against Jürgen Melzer in the 2010 French Open quarter-final.

That this defeat came at the hands of a teenager who was not yet born when Djokovic first won a grand slam title lends the result a particular significance that is unlikely to be lost on those who follow the sport closely. The timing of Djokovic's exit is also worth noting. Just one day earlier, world number one Jannik Sinner had been beaten by Juan Manuel Cerúndolo in a result that had appeared to open the draw considerably for the Serbian.