Grand Slam dream shattered: Apathetic Zverev collapses badly against Djokovic

Once again, no Grand Slam title: A weak Alexander Zverev's Paris campaign ended in the quarterfinals against Novak Djokovic. The German won the first set, but after that, nothing went right.

At 11:51 p.m., Alexander Zverev lowered his head, crept to the net, and congratulated Novak Djokovic with a stony expression: Zverev's hopes of a redeeming first Grand Slam title were dashed against the most successful tennis player in history. In the quarterfinals of the French Open, the world number three lost to the 38-year-old Serb after a performance that, in the end, was almost a declaration of bankruptcy.

After a strong start, Zverev completely collapsed, losing to the unexpectedly brilliant 24-time major champion 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 4-6. "I wish Sascha all the best; the conditions weren't easy," Djokovic said sympathetically at the court microphone after Zverev had already disappeared into the catacombs: "My age is not easy. But matches like today are the reason I keep playing."

While Zverev missed the semifinals of the clay-court classic for the first time since 2020 and remained without the longed-for Major triumph in his 37th attempt, Djokovic is writing a new chapter in his legendary success story: In his 21st start at Roland Garros, he is in the semifinals for the 13th time.

Djokovic in top duel against Sinner

There, Djokovic will face Italian world number one Jannik Sinner on Friday, who impressively underscored his title ambitions with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 victory over Kazakh Alexander Bublik on Wednesday. "Novak has shown that he's back at a high level," said Sinner. "With all his experience, he's a very difficult opponent."

Zverev had also assumed this, predicting a "very difficult match." But ultimately, he brought it on himself. And anyway: With a performance like his against the 38-year-old Djokovic, he would have likely taken a serious beating against Sinner or defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who will face Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the second semifinal.

Zverev and Djokovic had met four times previously at Grand Slam tournaments, winning only once – a forfeit victory in the semifinals of the Australian Open in January. The Serb had won his only previous match at the French Open in 2019, comfortably in the quarterfinals. "Back then, he was clearly better after the first set," said Zverev, who entered the rematch with a match record of 5-8 – "there were some big losses, but also tough losses." And in this one, everything actually started according to plan.

Match completely slips away from Zverev

On a mild evening after a cold, wet day, Zverev was fully present from the start with the roof open on Court Philippe Chatrier. The 28-year-old immediately broke serve from his rival, who was ten years his senior. Three-time Paris champion Djokovic then found his way into the game, repeatedly demonstrating his prodigious skills, but Zverev played his game calmly and without fuss. After 46 minutes, the Serb's first set loss of the tournament was complete.

All good so far, all bad after: Zverev lost his line out of the blue. He got involved in a dispute with chair umpire Louise Azemar Engzell (Sweden), which cost him some sympathy from the already pro-Djokovic crowd. He played too passively and almost inevitably conceded a break to make it 1-3.

Djokovic suddenly worked his magic, whipped the crowd into high gear, and leveled the set. The match threatened to slip away from Zverev. He conceded another break in the third set, making it 2-3. He struggled, seemed perplexed, and desperately shouted up to his box. During this phase, almost nothing was happening; Djokovic, with all his cleverness, missed Zverev one powerful shot after another.

In the fourth set, the increasingly apathetic Zverev conceded an early break, fought back, but missed a chance to break back in the highly contested sixth game of this set - and then the match against Djokovic, who was playing brilliantly with stoppages.