Alexander Zverev moves into the quarterfinals of the French Open without losing a set against outsider Jesper De Jong. Concentrated performance is enough for the hamburger. Now the first chunk is waiting.
Alexander Zverev certainly didn’t play his best tennis, but with the exception of a weak initial phase, the Hamburg native was extremely focused on Sunday. The three-set win against the Dutch outsider Jesper De Jong in the round of 16 of the French Open could therefore be classified as both confident and deserved.
7:6 (7:3), 6:4, 6:1 – Zverev’s dream of winning his first title in a Grand Slam has become a little more tangible. “It was a bit difficult at the beginning, but then I found my rhythm. I feel that my game is there,” said Zverev immediately after the game.
The start of the match was quite awkward for Zverev. He immediately lost his first service game and couldn’t get in at all against the more relaxed De Jong. It wasn’t until the middle of the opening set that the Hamburger slowly found his confidence, the serves became more precise, the free play more self-confident – the tie-break had to decide and demonstrated the German’s strong nerves. He was already 0:3 behind and still prevailed 7:3.
Jódar is waiting in the quarterfinals
From then on, Zverev had his foot in the door. Or to put it less glibly: He was the better player. On the one hand, the 29-year-old never let De Jong, number 106 in the world, sniff the break on his own serve in the second round and, on the other hand, took advantage of a small weakness on the part of the outsider, who was actually playing well, to take a 2-0 lead in the set.
Zverev continued in the third round without any shine, but with concentrated work. He dominated his own serve, moved De Jong far across the court, and tired out the wildcard participant. And ultimately won easily.
In the quarter-finals, however, the first real test of the tournament awaits the Hamburg player. The young Spaniard Rafael Jódar prevailed against his compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta despite being 2-0 down. He is considered a rising star in the clay court sky. “Rafa is a very talented player, it will be a difficult task,” said Zverev, but: “I’m ready.”
