Jack Draper vs Joao Fonseca Prediction 5/31/25 French Open Tennis Picks

Jack Draper and Joao Fonseca meet in the third round of the 2025 French Open at Roland Garros. The match is scheduled for Saturday, May 31. Here’s our Jack Draper vs Joao Fonseca prediction. This preview will also include a Jack Draper vs Joao Fonseca pick.

Jack Draper Preview

Jack Draper is coming off a four-set win over France’s Gael Monfils that took three hours and 13 minutes. The night-session match certainly delivered, with home favorite and World No. 42 Monfils pushing the World No. 5 all the way. Draper settled the first set in 37 minutes with a couple of breaks. Monfils would level the match when he broke the Briton twice in the second set. Draper recovered to regain his winning position, taking the fourth set 6-3.

It looked like the match was destined for a fifth set when Monfils led 5-2, fending off five breakpoints in the seventh game, but Draper had other ideas. The lefty won five games in a row, including two breaks, and saved two set points. Draper compiled an astonishing 59 winners in the match, including five aces. He also hit 33 unforced errors and accounted for four double faults. Draper landed  65% of first serves in play and won 72% of first serve points (54/75). He won 59% of second serve points (24/41) and saved six of 10 breakpoints. It’s the first time Draper has reached the third round of the French Open. He has lost a set in each of his two matches this week.

Joao Fonseca Preview

Joao Fonseca, ranked 65th in the ATP rankings, is competing in his second Grand Slam main draw and first at the French Open. It’s happening a lot quicker than for most of his peers. The young Brazilian has now achieved his best Grand Slam run with a couple of excellent wins. Fonseca won his first match in a month when he knocked out 30th seed Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets in the opening round.  Fonseca lost eight games against the Pole, who, not long ago, was ranked in the Top 10.

In the second round, Fonseca would beat big-serving Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert. This was a lot closer than the score suggested, with Fonseca pinching a couple of tie-break sets and winning the third set 6-4. Fonseca compiled 34 winners and 26 unforced errors in the match. That included nine aces and eight double faults. This was only his third win of this year’s clay swing. Fonseca has an opportunity to make the second week of Roland Garros, but must secure a statement win against a top-five player.

Jack Draper vs Joao Fonseca Head-To-Head

Draper and Fonseca met at the 2025 Indian Wells Masters. The British lefty hammered the 18-year-old 6-4, 6-0 en route to winning his first Masters title. This will be their first clay-court meeting.

Jack Draper vs Joao Fonseca Prediction

Draper delivered an absolute thrashing when he played Fonseca in Indian Wells, which was on a slow, hard court. Draper has shown his adaptability this season, carrying that level to the clay swing and winning his first clay-court title in Madrid and putting in another impressive shift in Rome (quarterfinalist).

For Fonseca, this is already a career-best run in a Grand Slam and a welcome return to form after a winless spell in the past month. It’s a big task for the Brazilian prodigy to go up a notch here against the fast-playing Draper, but I’m putting the brakes on expecting this to be as routine as Indian Wells. Yes, Draper takes the ball early and will open the court and try to put Fonseca on the defensive all match, but the 18-year-old has flat-out said clay is his forte. And in traditional clay conditions like these at Roland Garros, Draper’s heavier shots don’t quite do as much damage as on fast courts. Fonseca will be playing with house money after that barren run before the French Open, so there’s no pressure at all. He’s got a real shot at causing an upset.

Nur Said's Pick: Joao Fonseca in five sets