The French Open is now well underway, with plenty of shocks having already taken place at the Grand Slam.
Naomi Osaka left Rennae Stubbs shocked after her exit, with the four-time Grand Slam champion losing in the first round to Paula Badosa.
But the former WTA number one wasn’t the only big name to lose in the first round, with John McEnroe shocked by defeats for Taylor Fritz and Emma Navarro.
The American pair were the fourth and ninth seeds respectively at this year’s French Open, but fell to Daniel Altmaier and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro respectively.
And also causing an upset was Brazilian youngster Joao Fonseca, who has knocked out 30th seed and former ATP number six Hubert Hurkacz.
French Open criticised for ‘huge mess’ involving Joao Fonseca
But his match also caught the eye of fans due to its location, with many confused that it wasn’t played on a bigger court.
Criticising the French Open for scheduling Fonseca versus Hurkacz on Court 7, one fan wrote on X: “So dumb of the people running the FO to not know this. I’m just a fan and I knew this would be an issue.”
A second commented: “Roland Garros scheduling at its finest,” with a third saying: “And that’s what we call BAD CHOICE.”
A fourth confused fan wrote: “How come this match was not scheduled for main court… or at least one of the three courts…”
And others said: “Should be on Lenglen or Matthieu,” and “The people doing the scheduling still have to learn about his popularity – shameful. Wake up – Rafa is now history…”
Why Hubert Hurkacz apologised to Joao Fonseca after their French Open match
Fonseca is no stranger to Grand Slam upsets, with the 18-year-old making it a habit in his brief career so far.
He knocked ninth seed Andrey Rublev out of the Australian Open earlier this year, and now has a maiden French Open win.
And his latest success is significant in more ways than one, with the Brazilian the second-youngest French Open match winner in the past 10 years.
The teenager is behind only Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz in that regard, who was 18 when he achieved the feat in 2021.
Fonseca now has another tough challenge awaiting him in round two, where he meets Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Despite his youth, he looks likely not only to enjoy a lengthy run in Paris, but also to enjoy huge success on the court in the years to come.
Hurkacz meanwhile was gracious despite his 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 defeat, with Fonseca praising the Pole for his actions in the immediate aftermath of their Roland Garros clash.
“Hurkacz is a very nice person,” said the Brazilian. “He told me ‘Congrats for everything you have done’. He apologised for being too fast between serves in the last game.”
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