Fonseca Shines, Etcheverry Falls as Latin Americans Split French Open Opener
The second Grand Slam of the tennis season opened Sunday at Stade Roland-Garros with a mixed scorecard for the Latin American contingent, as 19-year-old Brazilian João Fonseca survived a scare to advance, Argentina’s Solana Sierra knocked out former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu, and Argentine No. 23 seed Tomás Martín Etcheverry became the tournament’s first seeded casualty.
Fonseca, the first Brazilian man to be seeded at Roland-Garros since Thomaz Bellucci in 2011, came through French qualifier Luka Pavlovic 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-2 on Court Simonne-Mathieu. The 28th seed dropped serve early and faced a set point in the opening tiebreak before settling, breaking twice in the second set and cruising through the third. He next faces 20-year-old Croatian Dino Prizmic in a second-round match-up of two of the tour’s most-watched young talents. The winner is projected to meet 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the third round.
Sierra, the 21-year-old Argentine ranked No. 68, produced the day’s most lopsided upset on Court 13, blowing out Raducanu 6-0, 7-6(4). Raducanu, returning to clay after a viral illness, won just seven points in the opening set before clawing back from two breaks down in the second to force a tiebreak. Sierra closed it out on her first opportunity. She had reached the second week at Wimbledon in 2025 as a lucky loser and is now one of the most consistent Latin Americans on the women’s tour.
The day’s worst news for the region came on Court 8, where Etcheverry exited in straight sets to Portugal’s Nuno Borges, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The 26-year-old from La Plata, a 2023 Roland-Garros quarterfinalist and Argentina’s top-ranked man entering the tournament, has now lost to Borges in three consecutive meetings inside the past eight months. His forehand misfired throughout, his serve produced few free points, and the match was effectively decided inside two hours and 26 minutes. The result wiped out a defense of significant ranking points and continues a difficult clay swing for the Argentine No. 1.
There was better news on Court 12, where veteran Argentine Marco Trungelliti, ranked outside the top 150, defeated Frenchman Kyrian Jacquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the second round at a Grand Slam for the first time in years. Trungelliti, the qualifier who famously drove across Europe to claim a lucky-loser spot here in 2018, advances to face a tough draw but adds another Albiceleste name to the second-round bracket.
Compatriot Thiago Agustín Tirante was not as fortunate, falling to Spain’s Pablo Llamas Ruiz in a five-set marathon 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-5, 6-0 (final-set score per match feed; full final scoreline pending official confirmation). The Argentine qualifier had set points in the second set tiebreak and led in the fourth before fading physically in the decider.
Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien, who came through qualifying for his sixth main-draw appearance in Paris, was scheduled to play Frenchman Valentin Royer in a night session on Court 8. The 32-year-old veteran from Trinidad is a familiar presence on European clay and remains one of the few Bolivians to consistently reach Grand Slam main draws.
Still to come in the opening rounds are Argentina’s Francisco Cerúndolo (No. 25 seed), who faces Botic van de Zandschulp; Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli, who meets American Emilio Nava in an intra-Latin-flavored opener; Argentine Mariano Navone, drawn against American Jenson Brooksby; and Chile’s Cristian Garin, who faces 18th seed Learner Tien. Italy-representing but Argentine-rooted Luciano Darderi enters with one of the heaviest clay résumés in the draw, having accumulated nearly 50 tour-level clay wins since the start of 2024.
On the women’s side, Colombia’s Camila Osorio and Emiliana Arango, Mexican veteran Renata Zarazúa, and Brazilian flag-bearer Beatriz Haddad Maia are all set to begin their tournaments in the next two days. Arango plays Spanish qualifier Marina Bassols Ribera, with the winner facing No. 8 seed Mirra Andreeva.
The tournament runs through June 7 at Stade Roland-Garros, with the women’s final on June 6 and the men’s final on June 7. Two-time defending men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz withdrew before the draw with a right wrist injury, leaving the men’s bracket as open as it has been since the Rafael Nadal era and giving the deep Latin American contingent its best structural chance at a deep run in years.
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