French Open 2025: Brazilian teen João Fonseca beats Hubert Hurkacz in Roland-Garros debut
The Roland-Garros logo stands out on the occasion of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
PARIS (AP) — João Fonseca is making a habit of drawing big crowds at tennis tournaments — and of beating seeded opponents in his Grand Slam debuts.
The 18-year-old from Brazil delighted a loud and overflowing group of spectators at 1,500-capacity Court 7 on Tuesday and won the first French Open match of his nascent career, beating 30th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
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'I'm young, and I'm getting the experience of everything now,' Fonseca said. 'So I'm learning a lot from this circuit and this environment.'
Fonseca needed just 1 hour, 40 minutes to wrap up the victory, producing more than twice as many winners, 36, as unforced errors, 15, and repeatedly delivering booming forehands.
'I mean, he's (got) a very powerful game,' said Hurkacz, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2021 by beating Roger Federer in the last match of the 20-time major champion's career. "He's definitely an all-around player and can develop a lot. It's difficult to play against him."
All along, Fonseca heard plenty of support from the Brazilians who haven't had a Grand Slam champion to cheer for since Gustavo Kuerten was winning three French Open titles in 1997, 2000 and 2001.
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Fonseca, the 2023 U.S. Open junior champion and currently ranked 65th, played his first match in the main draw of a major at the Australian Open in January, when he knocked off No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev.
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