Joao Fonseca wants to face Novak Djokovic at French Open instead of 'easier' opponents: Here's why

18-year-old Joao Fonseca has taken the world by storm this year. He qualified for the Australian Open 2025 and defeated ninth seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the first round on his Major debut. He then claimed his maiden ATP title at the Argentina Open in February and cracked the top 60 of the ATP rankings.

Fonseca is currently competing at the Madrid Open, where he's looking to score some wins with an eye on the French Open. Ahead of his debut at the clay court Major in the coming weeks, the teenager sat down for a brief interview with the French Open team.

The main thing on Fonseca's bucket list when it comes to the French Open, or the Majors, is a match against one of the greatest players in the sport, Novak Djokovic. Given that the latter is in the twilight of his career, the Brazilian youngster hopes that he gets a shot to compete against him as soon as possible. The experience would mean a lot to him regardless of the outcome.

"When we start these biggest tournaments, the Grand Slams, the 'qualies', I always tell my coach: 'If I go to the main draw, I want to play Djokovic,' because it's probably one of the last times. I hope I can play him. I'd love to face Djokovic first, second round. I'd try to play my best tennis, the result wouldn't matter, I'd just enjoy it," Fonseca said.

While some players may prefer to deal with lower-ranked players, Fonseca said that he enjoys the challenge of dealing with the top guns. He added that he would love to hype up the crowd as well.

"I like to play the top seeds, I like the challenge. I play with no pressure, so I think I can play well there. I like to play with the crowd also, so it's an experience I want to have. Some players will want to play 'easier' first, but I want to play the iconic ones," Fonseca said.

Fonseca's wish of playing against Djokovic may come true earlier than expected. Both of them are in the same half of the Madrid Open 2025 and could bump into each other in the coming days.

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Joao Fonseca could face Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open 2025

Joao Fonseca at the Miami Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Joao Fonseca's wish of taking on Novak Djokovic could come to fruition at the ongoing Madrid Open. The teen will take on qualifier Elmer Moller in the first round. 11th seed Tommy Paul will await him in the second round, followed by 24th seed Karen Khachanov in the third round.

Fonseca could potentially meet either fifth seed Jack Draper or 30th seed Matteo Berrettini in the fourth round. If he gets through all these top players, then his reward would be a quarterfinal showdown with Djokovic, provided the Serb also wins all of his previous matches.

Fonseca's best result at the Masters 1000 level has been a third-round showing at last month's Miami Open. He has a 3-3 career record against top 20 players, so he has proven himself more than capable of going toe-to-toe with the best of the best. He's certainly talented enough to set up a showdown against Djokovic in Madrid.