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Zverev beats back pressure, De Jong

The No.2 seed revved up his game and raced by lucky loser De Jong

Alexander Zverev, Roland-Garros 2026, fourth round
©André Ferreira / FFT
 - Chris Oddo

The chaos is real in Paris on the men’s side, and the pressure is building as another day of the fortnight drops off the calendar. 

As the round of 16 kicked off on Sunday around the grounds, Alexander Zverev found himself in a position that was at once enviable and unenviable. 

Yes, he’s the highest seed remaining in the draw and the consensus favourite to raise the coveted Coupe des Mousquetaires next Sunday, but that status comes with one thing that can make the body tremble and the head fall into disarray: pressure. 

The No.2 seed dealt with it effectively on Sunday, weathering the pesky, opportunistic lucky loser Jesper de Jong in straight sets, 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-1.

"In the beginning it was a bit difficult," Zverev told the crowd. "I didn't start off strong and he started off really fast. Once I found my rhythm I felt very comfortable on the court, and that's the most important thing for me.

"I feel like my game is there and now it's about showing it on the match courts."

Zverev advances to his eighth career quarterfinal at Porte d’Auteuil, and his sixth in succession. He has never won a title on the Parisian clay, but the 2024 runner-up has been a constant threat – even more so in recent years. 

It took a while for Zverev to reach his most dominant form against the world No.104 on Sunday. He was 3-0 down in the first set, and even after he drew even a tightness characterised his strokes. 

“Zverev is clearly nervous,” said Jim Courier, who commentated the match for TNT. 

The German didn’t hit his stride until he was down 3-0 in the opening set tiebreak. He reeled off seven consecutive points to take the first set, then put on a serving clinic in the second, barely missing his first serve as he rumbled through service games like a man with a dinner date for 19.00 hours. 

Zverev has won 25 of his last 27 tiebreaks at Roland-Garros, including his last 11. He's also 42-10 lifetime on the Parisian clay overall.

The German broke De Jong in the tenth game to claim the second set, and never looked back. He cruised through the third set, completing his victory in two hours and 14 minutes.

De Jong, celebrating his birthday and seeking the biggest win of his career, was bidding to become the first lucky loser to reach a men's singles Grand Slam quarter-final. 

The 26-year-old Dutchman lost in the final round of qualifying to American Michael Zheng, then entered the draw when top-ranked Frenchman Arthur Fils pulled out with an injury. De Jong defeated Stan Wawrinka in the first round, and took out Karen Khachanov in the third round.

But he met his match in Zverev today.

Praise for the new Rafa

Zverev's win sets a first-time meeting with Spain's Rafa Jodar, the 19-year-old sensation who has been the talk of men's tennis this spring.

Jodar, who defeated Pablo Carreno Busta from two sets down to become the sixth player this century to reach the quarterfinals on his main draw debut in Paris, leads the ATP in clay court wins this year with 19.

Zverev was asked about the Spaniard in his post-match press conference.

"It's a fun time for any player when you're first coming up because you have no pressure," he said. "You play freely. You experience all these big things for the first time. It's a lot of fun to be in that position.

"But I think it's also fun to be in a position that I'm in where I have been at this level for 10 years... I know how to handle certain situations."