ATP Tour

Fonseca, Jodar join the likes of Agassi, Alcaraz with Roland Garros QF berth

Joao Fonseca and Rafael Jodar continue to announce themselves on one of tennis’ biggest stages at Roland Garros, where they both reached their first major quarter-final on Sunday.

At 19 years old, Fonseca and Jodar have become just the fifth teenage duo to reach the men’s singles quarter-finals at a major in the past 42 years, and only the second such pairing this century.

Teenage Duos To Reach Grand Slam QFs (since 1988)

The most recent teenage duo to achieve the feat was Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune at Roland Garros in 2022. Both men lost in the quarter-finals in four sets (Alcaraz to Alexander Zverev and Rune to Casper Ruud).

The last time multiple teenagers reached the men’s singles quarter-finals at a Grand Slam tournament outside of Paris came at the Australian Open in 1984, when Boris Becker, Pat Cash and Stefan Edberg all advanced to the last eight.

Both Fonseca and Jodar produced standout performances to reach that stage this year. Fonseca overcame two-time Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud 7-5, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-2, while Jodar rallied from two sets down to defeat former World No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

The challenge only intensifies from here for the #NextGenATP standouts. Fonseca will next face Jakub Mensik, while Jodar takes on second seed and 2024 finalist Alexander Zverev for a place in the semi-finals.