João Fonseca stuns Novak Djokovic at French Open from two sets down

PARIS — Novak Djokovic’s hopes of a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam are over — for now. Rising Brazilian teenager João Fonseca knocked him out of the French Open Friday night in a five-set thriller, coming from two sets down to win 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5.

Djokovic may never get a better opportunity. With Carlos Alcaraz absent due to a wrist injury, and Jannik Sinner exiting the tournament Thursday, the path had seemingly been cleared for Djokovic to break the Grand Slam record that he jointly holds with Margaret Court. Sinner and Alcaraz had split the previous nine Slams, with Djokovic losing to one of them in six of those tournaments.

But on a sweaty afternoon in Paris, where temperatures again pushed 90 degrees fahrenheit, Djokovic was reeled in from two sets to love by the boy from Brazil, who many have tipped for the very top. In his first match against Djokovic, and his first on one of the four biggest Grand Slam courts, Fonseca became only the second man to beat the 24-time Grand Slam champion from two sets down. Jurgen Melzer was the first, at this tournament in 2010. Three hundred and one other attempts have ended in failure.

The result leaves Djokovic ruing a missed opportunity and nursing an ailing body. He had only played once since March 12 coming into Roland Garros, because of a shoulder injury, and he went through various states of discomfort as the Paris afternoon turned into evening.

Still, his next opportunity may not be so far away. Alcaraz will miss Wimbledon, which starts June 29, with his wrist injury. Following his five-set defeat to Juan Manuel Cerúndolo in the second round, Sinner said in a news conference that he would need time to recover.

After his famous victory, Fonseca will play either Casper Ruud or Tommy Paul in the fourth round.