Casper Ruud and Joao Fonseca have both gone to 5 sets twice this week. Long matches have become the norm at an unpredictable French Open, the trend to continue in the fourth round.
| Casper Ruud | Joao Fonseca | |
|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Norway | Brazil |
| Age | 27 (22 December 1998) | 19 (21 August 2006) |
| Height | 6'0" (1.83m) | 6'2" (1.88m) |
| Plays | Right-Handed | Right-Handed |
| Ranking | 16 | 30 |
| Career High | 2 (September 2022) | 24 (November 2025) |
| ATP Tour Titles | 14 | 2 |
| French Open Best Result | Runner-Up (2022, 2023) | Third Round (2025) |
HTH
This will be the first match between Casper Ruud and Joao Fonseca.
Ruud Saves Two Match Points
Casper Ruud did little of note on hard courts but is excelling on clay. He reached the quarter-finals in Madrid and the final in Rome where he lost to Jannik Sinner.
The Norwegian went deep in Geneva where he was on target to win the title. He was the favourite in the semi-finals before suffering a surprise defeat to Mariano Navone.
The 27-year-old has spent plenty of time on court at Roland Garros, holding on to defeat Roman Safiullin 6-2 7-6 5-7 0-6 6-2 in the first round. He saved all seven break points in a 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory against Hamad Medjedovic.
Ruud was two sets down to Tommy Paul but turned it around to come through 4-6 6-7 6-4 7-6 7-5. It was an impressive victory after saving two match points in the fourth set, Paul giving up only three break points.
He spoke about turning it around in Paris: “It's battles like this you train hard for. (To) be in a position to be love-two down, it's not fun, but it's an opportunity to come back. I just told myself, ‘One set at a time and see what happens from there’.”
Fonseca Gets Past Djokovic
Joao Fonseca has been mixing it with the best this year, losing to Jannik Sinner in Indian Wells and Carlos Alcaraz in Miami. He met more Top 10 players in Madrid and Rome, beaten by Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton.
The 19-year-old beat Luka Pavlovic 7-6 6-4 6-2 at Roland Garros and came back to beat Dino Prizmic 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-1 6-2, winning more than 64% of his 2nd serves in each victory.
The Brazilian came to the fore in the third round with a career defining win. He beat Novak Djokovic 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5, hitting 68 winners and 47 unforced errors.
Fonseca talked about facing the 24-time Grand Slam champion: “It's difficult to play against him because it just feels that he's putting the ball where he wants.”
“Sometimes the ball is slow and goes deep, and you need to keep your footwork and need to go hard. The guy just (doesn't) give up at any time. He's still 39 and I feel like he's 20. It's just unbelievable.”