Amid the thrill of youth, world quantity three Zverev underlined his standing as favorite for the boys’s singles title with a medical straight-set win over Jesper de Jong, which despatched him by to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the sixth consecutive 12 months.
The second seed, 29, has lengthy been earmarked as a future Grand Slam champion however regardless of reaching finals at three of the 4 majors – and main Carlos Alcaraz by two units to 1 on the French Open in 2024 – he’s nonetheless trying to find his maiden title.
Nevertheless, with world primary Jannik Sinner and Djokovic each eradicated within the first week, plus defending champion Alcaraz absent due to damage, the German’s path to the title has opened up.
De Jong, ranked greater than 100 locations under Zverev, went toe-to-toe with the heavy-hitting German within the opener, racing right into a 3-0 lead and later main 3-0 within the tie-break earlier than Zverev reeled off seven consecutive factors to take the set.
Zverev needed to be affected person within the second, ready till the tenth recreation to transform one in every of solely two break-point alternatives provided to him, however was too robust for his opponent in a 24-minute third set, finishing a 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-1 win.
Relentless on serve within the remaining two units, he conceded simply six factors throughout 9 service video games whereas additionally displaying his formidable contact on the web, profitable 29 of 38 factors.
“It was a bit troublesome at first,” Zverev stated on court docket. “I did not begin robust and he began actually quick. However as soon as I discovered my rhythm, I used to be comfy.
“My recreation is there. It is about displaying it on the match courts.”
Zverev is one in every of solely three top-10 seeds left within the draw, one in every of simply two gamers with expertise of taking part in in a significant remaining and is competing on a floor on which he has gained 9 of his 24 ATP titles.
Maybe most crucially, whereas lots of his rivals have battled by a number of five-set matches, he has gained three of his 4 matches in straight units.
