Fonseca Credits Former Champion Kuerten for Brazilian Support at French Open 

Joao Fonseca of Brazil in action during his Men's 1st round match against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland at the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 27 May 2025. (EPA) 
Joao Fonseca of Brazil in action during his Men's 1st round match against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland at the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 27 May 2025. (EPA) 
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Fonseca Credits Former Champion Kuerten for Brazilian Support at French Open 

Joao Fonseca of Brazil in action during his Men's 1st round match against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland at the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 27 May 2025. (EPA) 
Joao Fonseca of Brazil in action during his Men's 1st round match against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland at the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 27 May 2025. (EPA) 

Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca began his French Open campaign with a 6-2 6-4 6-2 win over Hubert Hurkacz in front of a packed crowd on Court Seven and attributed the huge support to the popularity of compatriot and former champion Gustavo Kuerten.

All three of former world number one Kuerten's Grand Slam triumphs came at the French Open (1997, 2000 and 2001) and 18-year-old Fonseca said that he had made the tournament more popular with Brazilian tennis fans.

"I knew there is going to be a lot of Brazilians here in Paris, a lot of Brazilians living here and they come a lot," Fonseca told reporters after his win over 30th seed Hurkacz on Tuesday.

"I think because of Guga (Kuerten), because of the tradition, there is a lot of Brazilians."

One of the rising stars of the men's tour, Fonseca shocked ninth seed Andrey Rublev on his Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open in January and became the youngest Brazilian to win an ATP tournament at the Argentina Open the following month.

Fonseca said he wanted to focus on improving himself instead of the growing pressure brought on by rising expectations.

"Sometimes the pressure is going to come. It's normal. You need to deal with it," he added.

Fonseca may not enjoy the same level of support in the next round on Thursday as he faces Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.



Liverpool and Portugal Players Join Family in Mourning Diogo Jota and His Brother at Funeral

 Mourners react as the coffins of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva are carried outside the church during their funeral in Gondomar, near Porto, Portugal, on Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP)
Mourners react as the coffins of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva are carried outside the church during their funeral in Gondomar, near Porto, Portugal, on Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP)
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Liverpool and Portugal Players Join Family in Mourning Diogo Jota and His Brother at Funeral

 Mourners react as the coffins of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva are carried outside the church during their funeral in Gondomar, near Porto, Portugal, on Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP)
Mourners react as the coffins of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva are carried outside the church during their funeral in Gondomar, near Porto, Portugal, on Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP)

Players from Liverpool and Portugal's national team joined family and friends for the funeral of their teammate Diogo Jota and his brother on Saturday, two days after the siblings died in a car crash in Spain.

Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk arrived carrying a red floral arrangement in the shape of a soccer shirt with Jota’s No. 20 in white. Liverpool teammate Andrew Robertson carried a similar arrangement with the No. 30, the number worn by Jota’s brother, André Silva, who played for Portuguese club Penafiel. Coach Arne Slot was part of the Liverpool contingent.

Portugal international Rúben Neves served as a pallbearer for Jota a day after playing for at the Club World Cup in the United States. He and Jota were teammates at Wolverhampton earlier in their careers.

Neves and João Cancelo attended the funeral after playing in Orlando on Friday, when their Al Hilal was eliminated by Fluminense. Both players had wept when a minute of silence was held before the quarterfinal match.

The service was held at Igreja Matriz church in the Portuguese town of Gondomar, where Jota had a home.

Church bells pealed at 10:00 a.m. local time as the funeral started. Pallbearers carried the caskets of both brothers from a chapel next door and into the church. Relatives and hundreds of friends and acquaintances, including players of the local Gondomar FC where Jota started playing at age 9, then followed.

Portugal's national team coach Roberto Martínez and several other top Portuguese players also attended, including Manchester City duo Bernardo Silva and Rúben Dias and Manchester United's Bruno Fernándes.

“These are really, really sad days, as you can imagine,” Martínez said. "But today we showed we are a large, close family. ... Their spirit will be with us forever.”

The bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, led the funeral mass. The church was filled to capacity and a couple of dozen people followed the service via loudspeaker from outside. Afterwards, the coffins were carried to the cemetery next to the church.

Jota, 28, and the 25-year-old Silva were found dead near Zamora in northwestern Spain early Thursday after the Lamborghini they were driving crashed on an isolated stretch of highway just after midnight and burst into flames.

The brothers were reportedly heading to catch a boat from northern Spain to go to England where Jota was to rejoin with Liverpool after a summer break.

Spanish police are investigating the cause of the crash, which did not involve another vehicle, they said. They said they believe it could have been caused by a blown tire.

Their bodies were repatriated to Portugal after being identified by the family. A wake was held for them on Friday.

Jota’s death occurred two weeks after he married long-time partner Rute Cardoso while on vacation from a long season where he helped Liverpool win the Premier League. The couple had three children, the youngest born last year.

Their loss led to an outpouring of condolences from the soccer world and Portuguese officials.