French Open: Novak Djokovic is certainly no dark horse to quarterfinal foe Alexander Zverev
PARIS (AP) — For all of Novak Djokovic's titles (100 in all) and Grand Slam trophies (24) and weeks at No. 1 (428, more than anyone else in tennis history), for all of his talent and determination, the guy still can find himself worrying about what is going on with his game.
Happened a little more than a month ago, even, when he was coming off three consecutive losses — his second skid of that length in 2025 — and was particularly concerned about being 0-2 on red clay this season as the start of the French Open approached.
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So Djokovic decided to enter the Geneva Open and what do you know? He hasn't lost since, going 8-0 heading into his quarterfinal matchup against No. 3 Alexander Zverev at Roland-Garros on Wednesday.
After leaving Geneva with the championship, Djokovic not only has won his first four matches in Paris, but has yet to drop a set.
'It happens if you lose a match or two consecutively, and then you don't feel you have enough match play, you start to maybe doubt your game. You don't want to be in that state of the mind coming into Grand Slams,' the 38-year-old Serb said. 'So I'm just glad it all turned out to be perfect for me, in that sense.'
He and Zverev, a 28-year-old German, know each other quite well, on a court and off.
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This will be their 14th head-to-head contest on tour dating to 2017 — Djokovic holds an 8-5 advantage — and first since meeting in the semifinals at the Australian Open in January. That one ended after just one set: Djokovic stopped playing because of an injured hamstring, drawing boos from the ticket-buyers, and Zverev defended him.
Their only previous encounter in Paris came back in 2019, and Djokovic won their quarterfinal in three sets.
When Zverev, who credits Djokovic with serving as something of a mentor, looked ahead to Wednesday, he said: 'It's always a privilege to be on court with him."
The other quarterfinal Wednesday will be No. 1 Jannik Sinner against unseeded Alexander Bublik, the first man from Kazakhstan to get this far at any Grand Slam tournament. The first two men's quarterfinals were scheduled for Tuesday and, surprisingly, each one involved an American: defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain vs. No. 12 Tommy Paul, and No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy vs. No. 15 Frances Tiafoe.
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There was a bit of buzz after first-match losses at tournaments in Monte Carlo and then Madrid about whether Djokovic should not even be thought of as a contender this time around at Roland-Garros, although it is a place where he has claimed the trophy three times. He also is the only player to beat 14-time champion Rafael Nadal more than once at the French Open.
Both of those April setbacks came against unseeded opponents, Alejandro Tabilo and Matteo Arnaldi. Both were over in straight sets.
So Zverev was asked Tuesday whether Djokovic, whose recent woes dropped him to No. 6 in the seedings, might be thought of as a dark horse in Paris.
The premise seemed misguided to Zverev, who is a three-time runner-up at major tournaments — including to Alcaraz at Roland-Garros a year ago and to Sinner at Melbourne Park this year.
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'I mean, the guy won 24 Grand Slams. He's never going to be a (dark) horse. He definitely knows how to play tennis,' Zverev said. 'He definitely knows what it means to be on the big stage and to play big matches. There is no doubt about that.'
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
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Djokovic downs Zverev to set up French Open semi clash with Sinner
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Calls contested but both players hold
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Both players hold early games
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Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Getty Images Zverev 6-4, 1-1* Djokovic Well, Zverev has not slowed down as we enter the second set. Both players hold their service games but Zverev's serve is proving to be a key weapon in his armory tonight. He made all five first serves in his game. Getty Images Zverev 6-4, 0-0* Djokovic Three set points to the good and Zverev gets the job done with an ace. He has not blinked under the pressure of playing this match against one of the greats of the sport — he looks in control but do not expect Djokovic to go down easily here. The court looks pretty slow and heavy and Djokovic is having joy with drop shots so expect more of that in this second set. Getty Images Zverev *5-4 Djokovic Djokovic, tasked with saving the set as he stepped up to serve, does so dutifully. His last point was so well devised that Zverev started to walk off to his seat before it had even been called. Even so, he is one game away now from taking the first set. Getty Images Zverev *5-3 Djokovic That's some response from Zverev who saves break point. In that game we had a lovely rally where Zverev cranked up the pressure with a drop shot, only for Djokovic to respond with one of his own to wrap up the point. Then he pulls off an open stance backhand to conclude another rally from an improbable angle and take himself to break point. There's a reason he has been so successful — even if Zverev managed to save break point and win a 29 shot rally that left both players out of puff. Getty Images Zverev 4-3* Djokovic Zverev holds his service game and then Djokovic does the same — but not without the German challenging a call from the line judge. The decision was upheld upon closer inspection by the umpire but tennis fans will remember Zverev getting his phone out to take a photo of a disputed call not too long ago in Madrid. On that occasion he was unhappy with the electronic system, this time the call came from a human. He is sitting incredibly deep when Djokovic serves, as he wraps up the game with an ace. Getty Images Zverev 3-2* Djokovic How decisive could that first game prove in the course of this first set? Djokovic holds his service game and things are moving along nicely for now. As things stand, Zverev holds the advantage as he steps up to serve. Getty Images Zverev 3-1* Djokovic And there's the proof — some really strong serves see Zverev through that game. He has worked hard on his first serve, where he wins more points than his second serve, to ensure he is getting the most out of it. That's showing so far. Getty Images Zverev *2-1 Djokovic Well, switching out that racket had the desired effect for Djokovic. He takes that game pretty easily to get on the board. It's still early and neither player is revealing much emotionally at this stage. Both are looking good with Zverev up to serve — something he has done pretty well so far in this tournament. Getty Images Zverev 2-0* Djokovic That was a straightforward hold for Zverev. But the interest in that game comes with both players tinkering with their rackets. Between the first two games, Zverev handed his racket up to his father (who is also his coach) Alexander Zverev Sr. to re-grip the handle. Meanwhile Djokovic headed over to his bag and changed out his racket to one with a different tension. Weather conditions appear to be playing their part in these decisions. Getty Images Zverev 1-0* Djokovic You get the impression we could be in for a bit of an epic between these two players tonight. The match starts with some long rallies and a great beginning for Zverev as he breaks Djokovic's serve. It's very early days, however, and the German does not show even a flicker of emotion after that positive start. Getty Images Zverev 0-0* Djokovic With Grand Slam title number 25 in his sights, Djokovic serves and gets us underway. ...and opts to serve first. He's started his warm up now. Can he maintain his record of not dropping a set yet at this year's Roland Garros? It seems a steep ask against opposition as talented as Zverev. Novak Djokovic was left waiting for a moment there as Alexander Zverev was late for the walk out — here they come as they prepare to warm up. Mind games from Zverev? Getty Images He is the GOAT for a reason — Novak Djokovic has swept all before him over the years in Grand Slam tennis. He picked up his 100th career title last month and officially became the oldest player to reach the quarterfinal at Roland Garros for 50 years when he booked this ticket to play Zverev tonight. What drives him? In the end, it's pretty simple. "History motivates me," he said in an interview on TNT Sports. "That is always my desire to make new records and to extend the records that I already made." Novak Djokovic sits at 24 singles slam titles. He is tied with Margaret Court for the most slams (man or woman). One more slam win and the Serb is in a class of his own with 25. Three wins away from his 25th slam and fourth French Open title. Getty Images This is the 14th meeting between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev. The Serb leads the German 8-5 in the career head to head. Zverev won the last match against Djokovic at the Australian Open where he advanced after the 24-time slam champion retired due to injury. With a win over rival Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev would advance to his 10th career slam semifinal. It would be a fifth semifinal appearance at Roland Garros for the German, the most for him at any slam. Zverev has yet to win a slam in his career. He's made three finals, including Roland Garros last year and the Australian Open last January, going 0-3 in all of them. Should Novak Djokovic win today, it would be his 13th semifinal at Roland Garros in his career. It would be back-to-back slam semifinals for the Serb in 2025. Djokovic would improve to 101-16 all-time at Roland Garros in his career with a victory over Alexander Zverev. This is the second time that Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev have met at Roland Garros. They played against each other in 2019, where the Serb beat the German in straight sets 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. Zverev got the better of Djokovic at the Italian Open final in 2017 where he won in straights 6-4, 6-3. With the two players 1-1 on clay in their careers against each other, it makes today's showdown all the more compelling.
