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Third seed fired backhand return to seal four-set win over Alcaraz
Leading by two sets to one and with a chance to clinch his quarter-final clash at Roland Garros with Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth-set tie-break, Alexander Zverev decided to gamble.

“It is one shot that I like to do,” said Zverev in his post-match press conference when asked about the backhand down-the-line return winner that sealed his 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7) victory on Tuesday. “I have done it a lot in my career.

“I had to win the match myself. I feel like you're either going to miss it by a country mile or going to hit a winner. So, I hit a winner, which I'm quite pleased about.”

You May Also Like: Zoned-In Zverev Takes Out Alcaraz For SF Spot
The final point was a microcosm of Zverev’s approach to the match. The third seed seemed intent on dictating play from the start on Court Philippe Chatrier, where aggressive serving and groundstrokes powered him to a two-set lead over the Spaniard. Zverev believes that mindset was crucial in securing his maiden win over a Top 10 opponent at a Grand Slam.

“I think Carlos is one of the best players in the world right now. It seems quite impossible to beat him. But I knew that I had to play my absolute best from the first point on.

“Letting him go ahead in the match, letting him get the confidence was going to be a very difficult thing for me to come back from. In the end I'm happy that I won in four sets and didn't have to go to a fifth set.”

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As he moves within two matches of a maiden Grand Slam crown in Paris, Zverev acknowledged his expectations have changed when it comes to big matches at the majors.

“At the end of the day, I'm not 20 or 21 years old anymore,” said Zverev. “I'm 25. I am at the stage where I want to win, I'm at the stage where I'm supposed to win, as well.

“We still have the best players in the world playing with Novak [Djokovic], Rafa [Nadal], and Roger [Federer] is coming back. Then you have the new generation, but I think our generation is very strong as well. We have [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, [Daniil] Medvedev who is a US Open champion. I won big events like the Olympics, as well.”



The sort of resilience he showed in withstanding a strong Alcaraz fightback will be key for Zverev if he wants to progress further at the clay-court Grand Slam, where he faces World No. 1 Novak Djokovic or 13-time champion Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. No matter who his opponent is, the German hopes that Tuesday’s performance will stand him in good stead.

“There is a reason why they are the best in the world at Grand Slams,” said Zverev. “One [Nadal] has 21, the other one [Djokovic] has 20. They have been top of the game for the past 15, 20 years, and there is a big reason for that.

“Yes, I have not beaten them in majors, but I feel like I was very close. I feel like I have had very difficult and tough matches against them…But there is a big difference between having a tough match and beating them.

“Hopefully I can manage and take this win today and put it on the court on Friday.”

Learn how the German could reach the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings
Following Novak Djokovic’s loss to Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros quarter-finals, Alexander Zverev now controls his destiny in the battle for No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

If the German wins Roland Garros, on 6 June he will become the 28th player to reach the top of the men’s tennis mountain. He next plays 13-time champion Nadal in the semi-finals.

If Zverev does not lift his first Grand Slam trophy on Sunday, Djokovic will remain in top spot for a record-extending 373rd week on 6 June. Zverev would climb to a career-high No. 2 next week if he loses in the final, and remain World No. 3 if he falls to Nadal.

Potential Pepperstone ATP Rankings Points (6 June) Based On RG Result

6 June 4R QF SF F W
Novak Djokovic - 8770 - - -
Daniil Medvedev 8160 - - - -
Alexander Zverev - - 7795 8275 9075
However, Zverev is guaranteed to ascend to at least a career-high No. 2 on 13 June, when past Roland Garros points (from 2020-21) fall off players' Pepperstone ATP Rankings, regardless of his performance the rest of the tournament. Djokovic will fall to No. 3 that day, when the 2,000 points he earned in Paris last year drop.

If Zverev does not triumph in Paris, Daniil Medvedev will begin his second stint at World No. 1. He previously held top spot for three weeks earlier this year.

Potential Pepperstone ATP Rankings Points (13 June) Based On RG Result

13 June 4R QF SF F W
Novak Djokovic - 6770 - - -
Daniil Medvedev 7800 - - - -
Alexander Zverev - - 7075 7555 8355
The week of 13 June will mark the first week since 10 November 2003 that at least one member of the ‘Big Four’ — Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray — will not be in the top two of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Spaniard holds 4-1 edge in clay meetings
Who holds the edge in the Rafael Nadal vs. Alexander Zverev rivalry heading into their Roland Garros semi-final?
Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev have played nine times at Tour level, with the Spaniard holding a 6-3 lead in their ATP Head2Head series.

The players will meet for the 10th time Friday in the Roland Garros semi-finals.

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The Spaniard and German have not played in more than a year, when they clashed in back-to-back weeks at the ATP Masters 1000 clay-court events in Madrid (won by Zverev) and Rome (won by Nadal).

Nadal has won four of their five clay-court meetings and won their first five meetings on all surfaces between 2016 and 2018. Zverev won three straight matches between 2019 and his Madrid triumph in 2021.

View Nadal vs. Zverev ATP Head2Head breakdown