Alexander Zverev believes there isn’t anybody in Carlos Alcaraz’s section of the draw that will ‘challenge him much’ as he backs the defending champion to reach another French Open final.
The German third seed praised his opponent after beating Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-1, to move into the fourth round in Paris. Zverev was runner-up to Alcaraz in the final 12 months ago when he led their match by two sets to one before losing 12 out of the next 15 games played. He is seeking his first Grand Slam title at the age of 28.
“I honestly think that Carlos will be in the final, to be very fair,” Zverev told reporters on Saturday.
“I don’t think there is anybody in that side of the draw that will challenge him too much. He’s the favourite, of course, before coming into the tournament. I think everybody kind of realized that.
“All the people that can challenge him, all the contenders, I would say, are all in the top half of the draw. I think we will have to really battle it out and I think he will enjoy watching it.”
Alcaraz is set to play Ben Shelton in the fourth round on Sunday with the winner going on to face either Tommy Paul or Alexi Popyrin. Lorenzo Musetti, Frances Tiafoe and Holger Rune are all potential semi-final opponents for Alcaraz.
In comparison, Zverev could face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals and then potentially Jannik Sinner. Jack Draper is also in this section and is on a collision course with Sinner in the last eight.
Another player to praise Alcaraz in Paris on Saturday was Jiri Lehecka, who got thrashed 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, by world No.1 Sinner. Lehecka believes Alcaraz is the only player who has the tools to dismantle Sinner’s game after winning seven out of their 11 Tour-level meetings.
“Honestly, the only one who can beat Sinner is Alcaraz. He’s a player who likes these conditions, knows how to move very well, and lifts the ball with a lot of weight,” he said.
“He knows how to play at every moment, when to drop shots and when to come to the net.
“If Sinner maintains this level, it doesn’t matter who he faces because he’s serving very well, returning great, and dominating the whole match. But if I have to imagine someone who can beat him, that’s Alcaraz, although it always depends on the conditions they play in.”
So far in this year’s tournament, Alcaraz has been put through his paces. He dropped a set in his second round match against Fabian Marozsan and did so again in his latest match on Friday against Damir Dzumhur.
