Brazil took center stage at Roland Garros on Tuesday as Luisa Stefani reached the women’s doubles semifinals and 19-year-old João Fonseca prepared for the biggest match of his young career in the men’s singles quarterfinals.
Stefani, partnering Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski, defeated Germany’s Laura Siegemund and Russia’s Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 7-5 to advance to the final four at the French Open. The fourth-seeded pair had already beaten the same opponents in last month’s Strasbourg final, and they again showed strong form on the Paris clay. For Stefani, the result adds to one of the most accomplished doubles careers in Brazilian tennis. She won Olympic bronze at Tokyo 2020 with Laura Pigossi, becoming part of the first Brazilian tennis team to win an Olympic medal, and later captured the 2023 Australian Open mixed doubles title with Rafael Matos, the first all-Brazilian pair to win a Grand Slam title.
Fonseca, meanwhile, was due on Court Philippe-Chatrier for a quarterfinal against 20-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik. The Rio de Janeiro teenager, seeded 28th, has become one of the breakout stories of the tournament. He reached the last eight by coming back from two sets down to shock 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, then followed that upset by defeating two-time finalist Casper Ruud. That run made Fonseca the first Brazilian man to reach the Roland Garros quarterfinals since Gustavo Kuerten in 2004. Kuerten, who won the French Open three times, watched from the stands as Fonseca sealed his latest victory.
With several Latin American players already eliminated, Fonseca has become the last man from the region still alive in the singles draw, while Stefani remains Brazil’s main hope in doubles. Argentine brothers Francisco and Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, and Argentina’s Solana Sierra have all been knocked out, narrowing the continent’s presence as the tournament moves into its final stages.
Fonseca’s quarterfinal was scheduled for not before 8:15 p.m. in Paris, or 12:15 p.m. in Costa Rica, with television coverage across Latin America on ESPN and Disney+. The men’s final is set for June 7. If Fonseca wins, he will move within two matches of a first Grand Slam title. The result of his match against Mensik was not available at the time of publication.
