Open Era history has been made after Joao Fonseca’s stunning victory against Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros
It’s fair to say this year’s Roland Garros has thrown up a whole heap of surprises, especially in the men’s draw.
The Grand Slam began without the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Jack Draper, and Arthur Fils and it’s only continued to lose star power throughout the tournament’s first week.
Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have sensationally fallen by the wayside, at the hands of Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Joao Fonseca, leaving the tournament left to be won by a first-time Grand Slam victor.
They have been joined by fellow top 10 seeds Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur, and Alexander Bublik, who were all beaten before the third round.
As a result, Open Era history has been made at this year’s Roland Garros.
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This is the first time in the Open Era where a former Grand Slam champion has not reached the Men’s Singles round of 16 at a Grand Slam event – including Grand Slam champions pre-Open Era, according to OptaAce.
So who is going to lift the Roland Garros trophy for the first time? There are several names who will want to try and stake their claim during the tournament’s second week.
Alexander Zverev will be the overwhelming favourite, having slipped up to Djokovic, Sinner, and Alcaraz at the latter stages of Grand Slams too many times to count.
He will play lucky loser Jesper de Jong in round four, but his potential quarter-final opponent has also emerged as a stunning potential victor.
Rafael Jodar was a relative nobody on the ATP Tour as early as the start of this season, but his glorious run on the clay in the last few months has seen him emerge as a genuine contender.
Jodar won his first ATP title in Morocco, reached the Barcelona Open semi-final, as well as back-to-back quarter-finals at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open.
Outside of a slight Roland Garros controversy for Jodar, the Spaniard has once again been very impressive during his first main draw appearance at the Grand Slam.
He’s beaten Aleksandar Kovacevic, James Duckworth, and Alex Michelsen to set up a tantalising fourth round match with compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta.
Away from Zverev and Jodar, Casper Ruud will also be hoping to lift the Roland Garros title for the first time. The Norwegian reached back-to-back French Open finals in 2022 and 2023 and there is every chance he can go one better in 2026.
He’s arguably the best clay court player left and his superb comeback against Tommy Paul in the third round will give him immense confidence for the rest of the tournament.
He will play Fonseca in the fourth round, who will also be hoping he can stake a claim for the title after beating Novak Djokovic in five sets.
