German plays punishing tennis to keep Spanish phenom at bay
Since the shock exits of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic last weekend in Paris, Alexander Zverev has become the prohibitive favourite in the 2026 Roland-Garros men’s singles draw.
“I’d say there is more pressure on him now to win a major, than at any time in his career,” said seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe, who commentated on Tuesday’s tussle for TNT.
As the saying goes: pressure is a privilege.
For Zverev on Day 10, pressure was a non-factor.
Whether the weight of expectation will eventually take a toll on the three-time Grand Slam finalist remains to be seen, but for the moment he is thriving in the midst of draw chaos. After the 29-year-old’s 7-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar under the roof in Court Philippe-Chatrier, the German has further solidified his status as the one to beat in a wide-open men’s singles draw in Paris.
Alexander Zverev
In his first ever meeting with the rising Madrileño, Zverev produced a comprehensive, smothering effort that had the first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist on the back foot for the final two hours of the match as the scoreboard ticked in Zverev's favour like clockwork.
Jodar has been making waves on tour all season, and entered his first meeting with Zverev leading the ATP tour in clay-court wins for the season with 19.
The world No.29, who started the season ranked No.168, even served for the opening set with a 5-3 lead before things shifted dramatically.
"It was difficult," Zverev said. "He had a perfect rhythm in the first set, and I didn't... he was playing amazing... but I managed to come back.
"He played a little bit of a nervous game when he served for it. I took my chances well and after that it was a good match for me."
The German reeled off 11 consecutive points to get back on serve, and he never looked back, rambling through 16 of the final 21 games to improve to 43-10 lifetime at Roland-Garros.
Zverev, who squandered a two sets to one lead against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 final, has reached at least the semifinal in five of his last six Roland-Garros appearances, but has lost three of his four semifinals in Paris.
Zverev will face the winner of Tuesday's night session between Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik.
The German has defeated both players on clay this season. He took out Fonseca in the quarterfinals in Monte-Carlo, 6-3 in the third, and defeated Mensik 6-3 in the third in Madrid, in the round of 16.
With Tuesday's win, Zverev became the ninth man in the Open era to play at least five semifinals on the Parisian terre battue.
Is it an achievement that the German takes pride in?
"Not really," he said. "Don't really care. I want to keep going, of course. I want to be in the tournament and I want to win the matches that are ahead of me."
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
