Alexander Zverev believes there was a link between the conditions and a reduction in his service speed after losing to Novak Djokovic in the French Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.
The world No.3 fell 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, to Djokovic in a late-night battle that lasted more than three hours. Zverev has won just five out of 23 matches played against top 10 players at Grand Slam events. Against Djokovic, he trails their head-to-head 5-9.
Reflecting on his latest defeat, the German says Djokovic’s ability to read his serve was partly due to the conditions. According to data from the official tournament, his average first serve speed was 200 km/h, and his second serve was 172 km/h. This was slower compared to his third-round encounter against Flavio Cobolli, but quite similar to his first two matches played in the tournament. In the fourth round, he only played one-and-a-half sets before his opponent retired due to injury.
“I think it was also a bit the conditions,” Zverev replied when asked what makes Djokovic so good at reading his serve.
“It was very, very cold. So my serve speed was not very high. I think when the sun completely went down, it was difficult for me to get through the court a little bit.
“It was difficult for me to find kind of ways to be dominant in the rally because my serve was neutralized very well by him. Then also, I felt like my groundstrokes, every time I tried to be aggressive, I was not really doing much.
“It was difficult for me to find a solution in the cold conditions.”
As for Djokovic, his average service speed was slower than that of Zverev. Particularly with his second serve, which had an average of 144 km/h (38 km/h less than his rival). However, he still managed to win a higher percentage of points behind his second serve than Zverev and matched him for first service points won.
Djokovic is through to his 51st Grand Slam semi-final at the age of 38 and is seeking his 25th major title. The run coincides with the 20th anniversary of when he won his maiden Grand Slam match in Paris.
“I think at the moment he’s a bit underrated, to be honest,” said Zverev.
“I think a lot of people count him out already but this year he’s had wins over Carlos at the Australian Open, he has had a win over me at the French Open.
“Forget the age. I think for any player, those are pretty good results.”
Zverev has yet to win a major title but has reached the final of the 2020 US Open, 2023 French Open and 2025 Australian Open. In two of those matches, he was in a winning position but lost in five sets.
Djokovic will next play world No.1 Jannik Sinner.
