Joao Fonseca is getting the hard part right at Roland Garros

The calm before the storm can be a time of great foreboding, but sometimes the calm after the storm is an even greater challenge to navigate. Joao Fonseca was well aware of that prior to his fourth-round clash at Roland Garros with one of the hottest players on tour: two-time French Open finalist, Casper Ruud.

The storm, in this case, was 19-year old Fonseca’s much-heralded win over Novak Djokovic in the third round. Fonseca thereby became just the second man (after Jurgen Melzer at Roland Garros in 2010) to beat Djokovic after having lost the first two sets. On Sunday, Fonseca backed up that glorious effort with a resonant triumph over the 27-year old, clay-savvy veteran Ruud. Fonseca won it in three hours and 56 minutes, 7-5, 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-2.

It was a knock-down, drag-out affair, with both men throwing haymakers, especially on the forehand side, until the very end. It was a dazzling display by the dependable, punishing baseliner Ruud as well as Fonseca, a grey-eyed, 6-foot-2 right-hander with lights out power, a loaded toolbox, and the willingness to use it.

Asked where his versatility comes from by former French Open champion Mats Wilander in his post-match interview, Fonseca said: “It's more like heart, or mind, I don’t know, I just try to be me on the court. Try to be happy, try to hit winners, try to hit good shots, try to be entertainment ... try to be me, and that’s what it is.”

Fonseca’s words were a pretty accurate description of a Brazilian attitude first revealed to us by his role model and an icon who sat watching throughout the match, the beloved former No. 1 and three-time Roland Garros champion, Gustavo Kuerten. Beaming when it was all over, Kuerten seemed pleased with the way Fonseca was building on his legacy.

The final stats in the match create a mirror image, the men were that close in so many key departments. They each hit 51 winners, and, astonishingly, an identical 52 errors. The similarity therein may owe to their similar sensibility: Ruud and Fonseca both belt forehands with abandon; Fonseca’s is already spoken of in mythic terms. Thus, each man tried to exploit the other’s backhand. That battle was won, going away, by Fonseca. Not only was his backhand more effective, it was the decisive difference in some crucial moments.

I just try to be me on the court. Try to be happy, try to hit winners, try to hit good shots, try to be entertainment ... and that’s what it is. Joao Fonseca

Fonseca’s proficiency on the starboard side was reminiscent of Djokovic in his prime. Although Djokovic is 39-years old, he’s still ranked No. 4 and he upset Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of this year’s first Grand Slam tournament. With Carlos Alcaraz sidelined and Sinner having been upset, this tournament had become Djokovic’s best opportunity for finally expanding his resume to 25 major singles titles. But Fonseca was on his own historic quest.

Roger Federer was the same age as Fonseca (19) when he crafted an epic, five-set win in the same round to end Pete Sampras’s 31-match win streak at Wimbledon. But then Federer went on to lose in the next round to Tim Henman. Referring to those events, analyst Jim Courier had a warning for Fonseca: “Be careful of that hangover."

Yet there was a key difference in play. Federer was a young man inexorably on the rise—and taking his sweet old time about it—when he upended Sampras. While no less touted as a rookie, Fonseca has faced unexpected setbacks in this, his sophomore season on the tour. His aura was somewhat dimmed by a nagging back injury that cut into his training in the off-season. He returned prematurely, only to bomb out in the first round of the Australian Open, and was just 1-3 going into Indian Wells.

The object of enormous interest and expectations from the start, Fonseca had always been prudent, leery of buying into the hype. Feeling the pressure after his lackluster start, he reminded reporters in Monte Carlo, “I think the expectations are going to come. People see young players doing great things, and they pull us into the top of the rankings. People need time. Everyone has their own time, so I want to do my history. I hope I'll be there competing against them [top players], but people need to understand that I need time to become what they want me to do and I want to become.”

Those words were a gentle reminder to those constantly on the lookout for the NGT (Next Great Thing). But they were soon to be parsed more critically, perhaps even as defensive, as Spain’s own 19-year old, Rafael Jodar, bolted out of the hinterland to accumulate a 15-2 record on the clay swing leading to Roland Garros. The run included a win over Fonseca in their first meeting, in Madrid.

It wasn’t that people were writing off Fonseca. It was more that they were beginning to question the inevitability of his rise. After all, it was powered in part by a delirious fan base (something for which Brazil is well known), and hype so dense that when Fonseca’s name was put forth as a contender at the French Open of last year, player-turned-podcaster Andy Roddick was moved to remark, “I’m like, ‘On what planet?’”

That skepticism might have proved just as applicable at this year’s event until  Fonseca’s stirring five-set wins over Dino Prizmic and then Djokovic. The wins brought to mind a comment Fonseca made early this year, while dealing with his slow start Down Under.

“There is going to be bad moments; there are going to be good moments,” Fonseca said. “The less moments, it's better. So you need to stay positive all the time. [Even] in practices, when the practices are difficult, or I'm playing bad, I just try to stay positive and focus on what I need to do, the exercise for everything.”

Lately, Fonseca has been experiencing mostly good moments. Who knows how long they will last? With 20-year old talent Jakub Mensik and Fonseca’s peer rival Jodar also in the mix in Fonseca’s half of the draw going forward, we might be experiencing the calm before the storm.