Alexander Zverev has never won a Grand Slam trophy, but the German could do it this year at the French Open. So, is it really time for him to win his maiden Grand Slam trophy, and how realistic are his chances?
Let’s take a closer look by going over both how he has performed at the event so far and how his main rivals have performed, because ultimately, it won’t only come down to him, as last year showed.
Alexander Zverev’s Roland Garros record
Alexander Zverev has been one of the most consistent players at the French Open in the past few years. Even a traumatic ankle injury didn’t really change anything in how he has played in Paris—he’s just been that good. The first of his impressive showings was in 2021 when he made his maiden semifinal.
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He faced Stefanos Tsitsipas and lost to him in a very close five-setter, with the Greek then losing in the final to Novak Djokovic. The next year, he made the semifinals again, and that was the ill-fated match against Rafael Nadal when he injured his ankle.
Many have commented that Zverev would have likely won that event if he had been able to get past Nadal, who was up a set by that time. He returned the following year, and despite not being in stellar form, Zverev again managed to make the semifinals.
He suffered a heavy defeat against Casper Ruud, but it was still impressive that he was able to make the semifinals at all. Last year was the most impressive one, as he finally made the final. Not only that—he won two sets and was leading 2-1 against Alcaraz, but couldn’t sustain the level needed as the Spaniard turned the match around.
Zverev struggled with Alcaraz’s moonballing, as he didn’t really know how to attack it. Since then, he has adopted a more aggressive style, which has suited him well because he has the skills to play that type of tennis, even if it doesn’t come naturally to him.
That makes him the most potent version yet, so how has Alexander Zverev performed at this year’s French Open so far?
Why Alexander Zverev can why the French Open
Alexander Zverev has been pretty good so far, winning most of the matches he has played without too many problems. He bested Learner Tien easily in the opening round. He had a bit more trouble against Jesper de Jong, losing a set but still cruising after that.
He smashed Flavio Cobolli without any problems, and that was a good win as well. And he easily outplayed Tallon Griekspoor, who ended up retiring midway through the second set. That puts him in the quarterfinal, three matches away from that elusive Grand Slam trophy.
He’s gotten there without exerting too much energy because most of his matches have been brief comparatively. We know he’s one of the better-prepared players when it comes to fitness and how much he can play.
He’s playing really strong tennis from the baseline, avoiding too many mistakes while maintaining a decent level of aggression. His serving has been on point, and in many ways, it does seem like this is the most mature version of Alexander Zverev that we have seen yet.
That’s very good news, and it’s a version of him that’s good enough to win the French Open. Now comes the other part of the equation, which is the opposition. The reality is that Zverev doesn’t have a stellar matchup against many of his rivals.
Carlos Alcaraz has always been a huge problem for him because he can hit through him like very few players can. He has the same problem against Jannik Sinner, and the Italian is an even worse matchup for him because, at times, he can be an even better shotmaker than Alcaraz.
Sinner also has the better serve, which gives him more room to operate. Zverev’s matchup with Djokovic is decent enough at this point, but not many really expect the Serb to challenge for the trophy, even if he’s played really well so far.
So, the bottom line is that he will need to get to a level we’ve never seen from him to win. Alcaraz and Sinner are both better players overall than him and play a style that gives him massive problems. So, he needs to go a level above that to have a chance to win.
Can he do it? Of course, he can. Will he do it? That’s the better question, because so far, he hasn’t shown up in those big moments. The three Grand Slam finals that he has played were all lackluster overall, and until he shows us differently, there will always be skepticism.
Perhaps this year might be the year, but only time will tell. The good thing is that we’re less than a week away from finding out.
