Andre Agassi believes that Joao Fonseca has ‘grown up’ after his French Open breakthrough, adding that he never looked ‘outmatched’ against Novak Djokovic during their third-round duel.

The Brazilian recently reached his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at this year’s edition of the Parisian event, further underlining his status as one of the most exciting young talents in the sport.

Fonseca’s run involved a dramatic five-set victory over Croat Dino Prizmic before he backed it up by coming back from a two-set deficit against Djokovic in the third round.

That win was the Serb’s earliest French Open loss since 2009 and his first defeat after holding such a lead at Roland Garros since 2010.

Fonseca then faced two-time finalist Casper Ruud, prevailing 7-5, 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-2 to reach the last eight.

Ultimately, Czech star Jakub Mensik proved a step too far for the Brazilian as he bowed out of the event following a magical campaign in Paris.

Agassi, who famously lifted the title in 1999, heaped praise on the teenager’s run and was particularly impressed by his ability to recover from difficult positions in consecutive matches.

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“I mean, watching him play Novak [Djokovic], I think he’s grown up,” analysed the eight-time Grand Slam champion during a segment on TNT Sports.

“I mean, he’s 19 years old, you know, but he’s grown into a young man already.

“I think a big match for Joao was that Prizmic match. Second round.

“He wasn’t playing well, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen Joao from not playing well to, like, figuring out a way on how to just settle in, maybe win ugly, right? And he got through that.

“Normally, he goes out there and either plays well and dominates, or he doesn’t kind of find his game, he’s overcooking balls, but he got through that from two sets down, and I felt like he kind of started the problem solve.

“And then to watch him out there against Novak, he’s never outmatched by any stage, which you’ve got to love.

“And I think [Rafael] Jodar’s been a big, you know, kick in the butt for him. Whether it’s appearing, taking some of the pressure off, whether it’s inspiring him to believe he can do maybe something more, or, you know, whether it’s just straight fear that, oh, no, I might be losing my way.

“Whatever it’s done, I think those two guys will count on each other and need each other moving forward.”

As Agassi mentions, Jodar – who is one month younger than Fonseca – also reached the quarter-finals before falling to world No 3 Alexander Zverev 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-3.

The Spaniard’s deep run highlighted the emergence of another highly-rated teenager on the ATP Tour, with both players expected to challenge the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Fonseca gained 300 ranking points for his quarter-final run in Paris and currently sits at world No 25 in the Live ATP Rankings, just one place shy of his career-high ranking.

The Brazilian is next scheduled to compete at the ATP 500 grass-court event in Halle from June 15-21 as he looks to carry his momentum into the grass-court season.