Alexander Zverev has warned against underestimating Novak Djokovic at a Grand Slam tournament ahead of their clash at the French Open on Wednesday.
The third seed will play 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic for the 14th time on the Tour. Their ATP Tour rivalry started at the 2017 Italian Open and Zverev has won just five of their meetings, including this year’s semi-final encounter at the Australian Open (via retirement). At Roland Garros, it will be the second time the two have locked horns, following their 2019 quarter-final clash. On that occasion the Serbian won in straight sets.
“He was much better than me back then, especially at Grand Slam level,” Zverev said of their last meeting in Paris.
“We played a close first set and then he beat me quite easily after that.
“We have played a lot of matches since then. We have played at Grand Slams. We have had a lot of tough battles. I have had a lot of great wins against him. I have had a lot of tough losses against him.
“We have great history in our rivalry but I’m looking forward to the match and it’s always a privilege to be on court with him.”
38-year-old Djokovic hasn’t dropped a set so far in this year’s tournament but has yet to face a top-50 player. He is currently on an eight-match winning streak after capturing his 100th Tour title in Geneva leading up to the French Open.
In comparison, Zverev has dropped one set which was in the second round against Jasper De Jong. He has played two top 50 players – Flavio Cobolli in the third round and then Tallon Griekspoor in the fourth round, who retired from their match due to an abdominal injury.
Whilst he is the higher-ranked player on the Tour, Zverev admits he is wary about the threat from Djokovic.
“The guy won 24 Grand Slams. He’s never going to be a dark horse. He definitely knows how to play tennis. He definitely knows what it means to be on the big stage and to play big matches. There is no doubt about that,” he commented.
“Until this moment, I had to focus on my matches. Now I have to focus on Novak.
“I believe on tennis and on experience Novak is up there with us, no question about that at all.”
Djokovic enters the upcoming clash after winning his 100th match at the French Open. He is the second player to reach this milestone at the tournament after Rafael Nadal who achieved 112 wins during his career.
