3:42 p.m
Coin Toss:
De Jong won the election and chose to serve.
3:40 p.m
Enema:
The players are on the pitch. It starts in a few minutes.
3:25 p.m
Head to Head:
There have been two direct meetings between Alexander Zverev and Jesper de Jong so far, and the German won both times. Once at the French Open 2025 in the 2nd round, where Zverev won 3:6, 6:1, 6:2, 6:3 and in 2024 at the ATP in Hamburg. Exactly a year ago, also in Paris, Zverev won confidently in four sets, with de Jong at least setting an exclamation point with the set lead in the meantime. The direct comparison is therefore 2-0 for Zverev.
15:22
Tournament history:
De Jong’s tournament history is a true success story. In the first round he defeated the former 2025 French Open winner Stan Wawrinka 6:3, 3:6, 6:3, 6:4. In the 2nd round it was 6:3, 6:1, 6:3 against Federico Cina and in the 3rd round it was 7:5, 5:7, 6:2, 6:7(2), 6:2 against Karen Khachanov after 4 hours and 22 minutes. The match against the 13th seeded Russian Khachanov was the toughest test of the tournament so far for de Jong. He had never fought past the second round of a major before the 2026 French Open. The route through the Lucky Loser qualification makes the achievement even more remarkable. He consistently used his second chance and prevailed against established top players.
3:20 p.m
Jesper De Jong
Jesper de Jong is writing the story of his life at the French Open 2026. The 25-year-old Dutchman, who was not originally eligible to compete in the main field, moved up as a lucky loser and fought his way into the round of 16. The best Grand Slam performance of his career. The 2026 season has not yet been consistently successful for de Jong. Overall, he hasn’t won a title in 2026, but his performance in Paris surpasses everything before. His career high ranking is number 71 and he is currently number 106 in the ATP world rankings.
15:17
Alexander Zverev
Zverev started the tournament confidently and celebrated victories in the first round with 6:3, 6:4, 6:2 over Benjamin Bonzi. In the 2nd round 6:4, 6:2, 6:2 against Tomas Machac and in the 3rd round: 6:4, 6:3, 5:7, 6:2 against Quentin Halys. With the victory over Halys, Zverev reached at least the round of 16 of the French Open for the ninth time in a row. After 3:10 hours of hard fighting, he prevailed against the Frenchman and kept his nerve even in difficult moments. This round of 16 has a special meaning for Zverev. It could be the tournament for the first Grand Slam title of his career. After the favorite died in Paris, he is one of only two remaining players from the top 10 of the ATP rankings at the French Open 2026.
15:13
Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev may be heading towards his first Grand Slam title at the French Open 2026. After the elimination of top favorite Jannik Sinner and the later exit of Novak Djokovic, the German moved to the top of many favorite lists and is now considered one of the hottest title contenders in Paris. In the current 2026 season, Zverev is in a semi-final for the fifth time, although he has not yet celebrated a tournament victory in this round. At the Australian Open 2026 he reached the semi-finals again, where he met Carlos Alcaraz.
3:05 p.m
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to the round of 16 of the French Open in Paris. Alexander Zverev meets Jesper De Jong from 3:30 p.m.
