Gustavo Kuerten cheers as fellow Brazilian Joao Fonseca follows in his footsteps at the French Open

PARIS (AP) — Former French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten was getting nearly as animated in the front row of the stands as Joao Fonseca was on the court.

In the end, both Brazilians were celebrating after the 19-year-old Fonseca followed up his five-set victory over Novak Djokovic by beating two-time runner-up Casper Ruud 7-5, 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros on Sunday.

Fonseca is the first Brazilian man to reach the last eight in Paris since — you guessed it — Kuerten in 2004.

Now if Fonseca can win three more matches, he can become the first Brazilian to raise the Coupe des Mousquetaires since Kuerten captured the third of his three titles 25 years ago.

During his on-court interview, Fonseca called Kuerten “an idol for our sport, for our country, for his charisma,” noting that Kuerten also showed up for his debut match in the Roland Garros junior tournament as a 15-year-old in 2022.

Seated directly behind the court, Kuerten — whose nickname is “Guga” — was gesticulating and cheering for Fonseca from start to finish and it even appeared that Fonseca was looking at him for inspiration on occasion.

Kuerten was known for displaying his emotions as a player — never more so than when he used his racket to draw giant hearts on the red clay during a run to the 2001 title.

Fonseca, who came back from two sets down against Djokovic, is known for his massive power and high-risk style.

When Ruud had the first of two set points in the second-set tiebreaker, Fonseca rushed the net on his serve and produced a drop-volley that Ruud couldn’t get back.

On his first match point, Fonseca followed his serve to the net again and produced a volley winner.

“I played really good in the important moments,” Fonseca said. “I just try to be me on the court. … Try to be entertainment.”

Fans wearing the neon yellow shirts of Brazil's national soccer team chanted Fonseca's name after every big point.

Up next, Fonseca will face 20-year-old Jakub Mensik, who held off a comeback from Andrey Rublev in a 6-3, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 2-6, 6-3 win to become the youngest Czech man in a Grand Slam quarterfinal since Ivan Lendl in 1980.

It was Mensik's second five-set match of the tournament. He collapsed to the clay with cramps upon edging Mariano Navone in a fifth-set tiebreaker after 4 hours, 41 minutes in the second round, then defeated Alex de Minaur in four sets despite losing the opening set 6-0.

Both Fonseca and Mensik have been putting in plenty of time on the court.

“I feel tired. It’s a first time for me, new experience for me,” Fonseca said. “It’s all heart.”

Just like Kuerten.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Brazil's Joao Fonseca reacst after winning the fourth-round tennis match against Norway's Casper Ruud at the French Open in Paris, Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Norway's Casper Ruud returns to Brazil's Joao Fonseca during the fourth-round tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Brazil's Joao Fonseca returns to Norway's Casper Ruud during the fourth-round tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Former French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten watches the fourth-round tennis match between Brazil's Joao Fonseca and Norway's Casper Ruud at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Brazil's Joao Fonseca reacts during the fourth-round tennis match againt Norway's Casper Ruud at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Former French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten watches the fourth-round tennis match between Brazil's Joao Fonseca and Norway's Casper Ruud at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not attend an annual parade honoring Israel on Sunday, breaking with a decades-long political custom because of his support of Palestinian rights.

Though it has gone by different names over the years, the Israel Day parade has always been a must-attend event for mayors, governors and other political leaders eager to win over the throngs of flag-waving revelers who congregate on Fifth Avenue to celebrate the birth of the Jewish state in 1948.

Not so for Mamdani. Two weeks ago the mayor's office released a video commemorating the Nakba, an Arabic word for “catastrophe” that is used to describe the displacement of an estimated 700,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that followed Israel’s establishment.

“I said on the campaign trail that I wouldn’t be attending the parade, and I’ve made my views on the Israeli government abundantly clear,” Mamdani said at a news conference Thursday.

But he also promised a robust police presence to make sure it went off “seamlessly and peacefully.”

The city’s police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish, did attend the parade.

“It is the mayor’s decision not to march, and it is my decision to march proudly,” she had said Thursday, stood alongside Mamdani at police headquarters.

The mayor's absence, though long expected, has given fresh fuel to opponents who view his criticism of the Israeli government as antisemitic.

Rabbi Marc Schneier, founding senior rabbi of The Hampton Synagogue on Long Island and president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which advocates for better relationships between Jews and Muslims, called Mamdani’s decision to not attend the parade “a slap in the face to all Jewish New Yorkers.”

“Do us a favor, stay home,” he said. “We don’t need you. We don’t want you.”

Schneier also slammed Mamdani’s Nakba video as “propaganda,” echoing concerns from other Jewish leaders who said it excluded context about Jewish peoples’ displacement during the period.

The video, which appeared to be the first such recognition from a sitting New York City mayor, featured the story of a woman who was displaced at 9 years old, interspersed with text about the Nakba, as she described a feeling of missing home, saying “it’s the soft hills of Palestine that actually touched me.”

“I’ve lived in different places, and I’ve always been an outsider,” said the woman, Inea Bushnaq.

Supporters of Israel were outraged, saying the video should have acknowledged the mass displacement of Jews from Muslim-majority countries or the role that the mass slaughter of Jews in the Holocaust played in the drive to establish a Jewish state.

Mayors in New York City, which has America’s largest Jewish population, have long been visible supporters of Israel, often visiting the country.

Support for Israel among Americans has deeply eroded in recent years, though, a trend that accelerated amid the outcry over Israeli military action in Gaza..

Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, has remained steadfast in his pro-Palestinian advocacy.

He has said he believes Israel has a right to exist but not as a hierarchy that favors Jewish citizens. Simultaneously he has pledged to protect Jewish New Yorkers and highlighted the work of the city’s Office to Combat Antisemitism.

A participant rides a unicycle during the Israel Day Parade, Sunday, May 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Emil T. Lippe)

Spectators wave flags during the Israel Day Parade, Sunday, May 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Emil T. Lippe)

A parade participant smiles up at spectators during the Israel Day Parade, Sunday, May 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Emil T. Lippe)

A parade participant cheers on the crowd during the Israel Day Parade, Sunday, May 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Emil T. Lippe)

Parade participants wave flags to the crowd during the Israel Day Parade, Sunday, May 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Emil T. Lippe)

Spectators cheer on parade participants during the Israel Day Parade, Sunday, May 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Emil T. Lippe)