Jack Draper given warning about Joao Fonseca ahead of their mouth-watering third round match at the French Open

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Jack Draper secured a stunning win under the lights on Court Philippe Chatrier in round two.

The British number one battled back from a set down to win his opening match in Paris, as Draper took down Mattia Bellucci, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

He then faced a far tougher test in the second round, coming up against home-favorite Gael Monfils in Philippe Chatrier’s night session.

Passing the test with flying colors, Draper beat Monfils, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in a thrilling contest that finished just before midnight.

Draper will now take on Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca in the third round, as a former Grand Slam champion warns him of how the 18-year-old could cause him problems.

Mats Wilander warns Jack Draper that Joao Fonseca will ‘hit the ball harder’ than Gael Monfils did

Speaking on TNT Sports following Draper’s win over Monfils, former French Open champion Mats Wilander gave his verdict on Fonseca.

“He is going to be a great player. He has got the mindset of somebody who is not going to take no for an answer,” said Wilander.

“He is going to get as good as we can get. We never know if that means top five, top 10, or top 20, but I know he is going to get the most out of his game.”

After Fonseca dominated Hubert Hurkacz in his French Open first-round match, he defeated Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert to advance to the third round.

Having not dropped a set in either of his opening two matches, Wilander explains how the 18-year-old could cause Draper problems.

“He has grown up on clay, and he hits the ball probably a little bit harder constantly than Gael Monfils,” he said.

“[Joao] Fonseca smacks the ball off of both sides. He has an unbelievable attitude. I don’t think, even if it gets physical, he is going to get tired because he is only 18 years old.

“So I mean, what an unbelievable draw for [Jack] Draper to play Gael Monfils and then Joao Fonseca.”

The Swede then predicted what the crowd will be like for the mouth-watering third-round tie.

“The crowd is going to be going crazy because we have a football crowd finally when Fonseca plays, and that is going to be so much fun,” said Wilander.

It will be interesting to see which court the French Open chooses to place Fonseca and Draper on, as they’ve been widely criticized for their decision-making surrounding the Brazilian at this year’s event.

In his first-round match, Fonseca played on Court seven, before being placed on Court 14 for his win over Herbert.

Despite his relative inexperience, Fonseca has one of the biggest fan bases on tour, and the demand to watch him is clear to see.

Coming up against a top-five player in Draper, it seems unlikely the tournament directors will make the same mistake again and instead should schedule him for one of the event’s three biggest courts: Philippe Chatrier, Suzanne-Lenglen, or Simone-Mathieu.

What happened the last time Jack Draper played Joao Fonseca?

Draper and Fonseca have played just once before, at Indian Wells earlier this year.

In a highly anticipated first meeting between the pair it was Draper who took the initiative, winning the first set 6-4.

With the crowd backing him, many expected Fonseca to launch a comeback in the second, but it wasn’t to be.

Stepping into another gear, Draper eased to a first-career win over Fonseca, 6-4, 6-0.

The win propelled Draper to greatness in California as he clinched his maiden Masters 1000 title.

• 2025 Indian Wells 2R – Jack Draper beat Joao Fonseca, 6-4, 6-0
• 2025 Indian Wells 3R – Jack Draper beat Jenson Brooksby, 7-5, 6-4
• 2025 Indian Wells 4R – Jack Draper beat Taylor Fritz, 7-5, 6-4
• 2025 Indian Wells QF – Jack Draper beat Bens Shelton, 6-4, 7-5
• 2025 Indian Wells SF – Jack Draper beat Carlos Alcaraz, 6-1, 0-6, 6-4
• 2025 Indian Wells F – Jack Draper beat Holger Rune, 6-2, 6-2

Perhaps the winner of their second career meeting will go on to achieve similar success in Paris.

Since the French Open (Then known as the French Championships) began in 1891, just five titles have been won by British or Brazilian players.

Fonseca’s idol, Gustavo Kuerten, was the last player from either country to win the title, doing so 24 years ago in 2001.

Only time will tell if either player can join the list in 2025, but they’ll certainly look to move one step closer by winning their third-round match.

Fonseca will play Draper in the third round of the French Open on Saturday, May 31.