Tennis dominator Jannik Sinner is sensationally out, now Alexander Zverev is one of the top favorites at the French Open. What stumbling blocks still threaten the German number one?
On Thursday, tennis dominator Jannik Sinner’s triumphant streak ended sensationally in the second round of the French Open. The Italian already looked like the expected winner when the score was 5:1 in the third set, then his body let him down: Plagued by cramps and dizziness, the top favorite had to admit defeat to the Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6:3, 6:2, 5:7, 1:6, 1:6. A surprise that made Alexander Zverev the top favorite from one second to the next. However, the Hamburg native still faces a number of high hurdles on the way to fulfilling his long-awaited Grand Slam dream.
On Friday evening, Zverev will face Frenchman Quentin Halys in the third round (in the sport.de LIVE ticker). For the 29-year-old, it is the eighth appearance in the main draw of Roland Garros. He failed six times at the start, and only in 2016 did he reach the second round before the current edition. In 2026, Halys has not lost a single set in Paris, but the role of favorite is clearly with the third in the world rankings from Hamburg. In March, Zverev had a hard time with number 90 in the ATP rankings at 7:6 and 7:6 in the round of 16 in Miami, but Halys couldn’t get a single break point back then.
Should Zverev achieve the expected victory, either the Dutch Jesper De Jong or the Russian Karen Khachanov would be waiting for the DTB star in the round of 16. The 30-year-old Khachanov would be the first seeded player (position 13) to stand in Zverev’s way. The world number 15 has already reached the quarterfinals twice at the French Open. However, he lost six of nine duels against Zverev, including the round of 16 of the 2018 French Open and the final of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. If De Jong prevails, Zverev would be the favorite anyway. The 29-year-old beat the Dutchman, among other things, in 2025 on his way to the semi-finals of Roland Garros.
Even if it is already certain that Zverev will not be able to meet any player from the top 25 in the world in a possible quarter-final, one of the biggest possible hurdles looms in the round of the last eight: 19-year-old Rafael Jodar. The Spaniard has made a rapid rise, being only 1,335 in the world two years ago and still 150 at the beginning of 2026. He started the French Open as number 29 in the rankings. On clay, the youngster was one of the best players on the tour before the French Open with 15 wins and only three defeats.
It is already clear that from the semi-finals onwards there will only be the big chunks in front of the bat. The most likely opponents for Zverev here are top 10 player Alex de Minaur from Australia, Zverev’s feared opponent Andrey Rublev, the three-time Grand Slam finalist (twice at the French Open) Casper Ruud, Brazil’s whiz kid Joao Fonseca or record Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. However, it is this abundance of prominent opponent options that speaks in Zverev’s favor. Djokovic and Fonseca will meet in round three. Ruud could wait for the winner in the round of 16, with Rublev or De Minaur threatening in the quarter-finals. In short: On paper, Zverev’s path is significantly more energy-efficient.
Video: This is how Sinner explains his sensational exit in Paris
The winner of Zverev’s half will also go into the final as favorite after Sinner’s exit. The best-placed player in the top half still in the tournament is Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. But the world number six is anything but a clay court specialist; at Roland Garros he never made it past the round of 16. The Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo also proved to be a high hurdle for Zverev in the past. After three defeats in the first three duels, Zverev recently retained the upper hand five times, mostly clearly.
“The favorite is out, but that’s just how it is”
The world number 14. Flavio Cobolli was also able to defeat Zverev in the semi-finals in Munich in 2026, but did not win a set in any of the other three meetings.
The starting position for Zverev to finally bag his first major victory in the 41st attempt and after three final defeats could hardly be better. However, the pressure on the hamburger should not be underestimated.
No wonder that Zverev’s brother Mischa, who is part of the German number one’s team, clearly emphasizes to “Eurosport” that nothing has been won yet: “You shouldn’t forget that Novak Djokovic is still in the game. He has won 24 Grand Slam titles, played the Australian Open final – he knows how it’s done. He was able to defeat Sinner there too. All of us, including Sascha, are experienced enough. Two matches have been won, the 3rd round is over tomorrow. There’s still a long tournament ahead of us, so much can happen. I’m not even thinking about Sinner’s defeat, but there are enough other good players to understand: the favorite is out, but that’s the way it is.
