Bill Simons
The most stunning changing-of-the-guard moment in tennis came 25 years ago when a little-known Swiss stylist knocked a king off his Wimbledon throne.
Young Roger Federer humbled the four-time defending champion Pete Sampras, and never quite looked back, as he went on to become arguably the most beloved person to ever pick up a tennis racket.
Today in France, there was a similar drama. After coming back from two sets down and a 3-1 deficit in the fifth set, the long hyped 19-year-old phenom, Joao Fonseca, leveled his gripping, high-level match against Novak Djokovic. Jim Courier was taken aback: “You’re going to tell me this is a third-round match? You have to be out of your mind!… Are we in a dream? I can’t believe it!”
Deep into the fifth set, Fonseca broke Nole, and was serving for the match at 6-5.
But the Brazilian blinked.
Djokovic gained a break point. He had a chance to push the battle to a decisive tiebreak. Maybe Novak’s mind was serene at that moment. But it’s more fun to imagine the inner dialogue that might have been racing through his head: “Never mind that I’m 39, I’m the GOAT, the only one left in Paris who’s won a major. Alcaraz is sidelined. That Argentinian kid kicked Jannik in the gut. Goodness, I’m 301-1 when I’ve been up by two sets. This is my tournament to win. Finally, in my tenth try, I can at last beat Margaret Court’s record of 24 Slams and be able to slip off my sneakers, go home to Greece, and, like Roger and Rafa, revel in the delights of retirement. Hallelujah, I’ll be free to be gluten free.”
Just maybe the mind of the Brazilian boy from Ipanema was racing too: “I was down big time. But now I can finally silence the haters, who dismissed me as just another product of the hype machine – all sizzle, no steak. Sure, I struggled earlier this year. But, look, if my neighbor from Argentina can beat the world No. 1, why can’t I send Novak packing?”
So the incredibly appealing kid, whose sublime forehand is a blazing blur, who’s mature beyond his years and has the touch of a pickpocket, scored a unique three-punch knockout. He unleashed a 137-mph ace on the line. Then he hit a 135-mph ace close to the line, and then, without blinking, pounded a third ace.
The greatest return-of-serve artist of all time didn’t know what hit him. In 4:53, Joao prevailed 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5.
So how did Joao, who hadn’t play a five set match prior to the tourney, manage to close out his second come-from-way-behind five set win of the week? He quipped, “I just believed I could do aces like John Isner.”
On court Alex Corretja told him, “This is a unique moment. This is epic. This is historic.” Genie Bouchard added, “We’ve a new superstar who’s going to dominate tennis…He’s going to become the world’s most eligible bachelor.”
Joao’s shocking, “A new day has come” victory wasn’t at the level of Federer’s statement win over Sampras, who’d won Wimbledon four times in a row. Yes, Djokovic surely is a timeless master, who uses conditioning, diet, yoga, meditation, imagination and wisdom to defy the calendar.
But Father Time is now fighting back. We no longer see Nole’s magical splits – his facial lines are deepening. Today he repeatedly gasped, bent low and fought to catch his breath.
Still, today, he showed us plenty of his Djokovician magic. Deep into the fifth set, he retrieved three mighty Fonseca forehands from the corner before setting off on a nine-stride sprint to unleash a backhand winner.
Dismiss this guy at your own peril. His wolf spirit is still fierce.
Aging icons like Pancho Gonzalez, Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova and Venus Williams all gave us wondrous On-Golden-Pond moments. But in recent years, Novak has become a singular tour de force. He’s long been raging against the gravitational reality of aging. AARP has got to give him a medal.
Still No. 4 in the world, Novak had reached at least the semis in his last four majors. Sure, it wasn’t easy. The “I won a set off of the GOAT and I’m gonna live to tell my grandkids about it” club has been growing exponentially. But today, Nole gave away 20 years. His not-that-creaky age showed, the shiny brilliance of youth prevailed – Brazilians were elated.
Fonseca has said Djokovic is a god. But in Paris, the tennis gods have been wreaking havoc. For one reason or another, prevailing stars and celebrated icons have vanished. Alcaraz, Sinner, Djokovic, Rybakina, Shelton, Fritz, Medvedev, Pegula, Monfils and Wawrinka all come to mind.
The men’s draw is in shambles. For the first time in the Open era, there won’t be a Grand Slam winner in the fourth round of a major and for the first time since the 2024 Australian Open, a Slam will have a first-time men’s winner.
The draw has two Cerúndolo brothers, a Ruud Norwegian, a Russian Rublev and a Big Foe from Maryland. The greatest player to never ever win a Slam, No. 2 seed Sascha Zverev, is the highest ranked player left, and has a 40% chance of winning. But don’t bet your mortgage.
Twenty years ago, three young stars were in the fourth round – Federer, Nadal and Monfils. Now there are three teens – Spain’s Rafael Jodar, France’s Moise Kouame and a Brazilian kid who added big-time to the tennis chaos that’s defined this year’s helter-skelter Roland Garros.
So we ask, “When has men’s tennis seen such anarchy, such asymmetrical change and such explosive dysfunction?”
For decades, there was the Big 3 – Roger, Rafa and Novak. Then the Big 2, Carlos and Yannick, did their thing. In Paris, who knew tennis would become all about the Big New?