For all of Novak Djokovic’s accolades – 100 profession titles, 24 Grand Slam trophies, a file 428 weeks at No. 1 – the person nonetheless generally questions his recreation.
Just over a month in the past, he was reeling from three straight losses – his second such skid of 2025 – and was winless on crimson clay, getting into the French Open 0-2 on the floor.
So he entered the Geneva Open. And since then? He hasn’t regarded again.
Djokovic is driving an 8-0 streak heading into Wednesday’s Roland Garros quarterfinal towards No. 3 Alexander Zverev. After claiming the title in Geneva, he’s stormed via his first 4 matches in Paris with out dropping a set.
“It happens if you lose a match or two consecutively, and then you don’t feel you have enough match play, you start to maybe doubt your game. You don’t want to be in that state of mind coming into Grand Slams,” the 38-year-old Serb mentioned. “So I’m just glad it all turned out to be perfect for me, in that sense.”
He and Zverev, a 28-year-old German, know one another fairly properly – on the courtroom and off.
This will probably be their 14th head-to-head contest on tour relationship to 2017 – Djokovic holds an 8-5 benefit – and their first since assembly within the semifinals on the Australian Open in January. That one ended after only one set: Djokovic stopped enjoying due to an injured hamstring, drawing boos from ticket-buyers, and Zverev defended him.
Their solely earlier encounter in Paris got here again in 2019, when Djokovic received their quarterfinal in three units.
Zverev, who credit Djokovic with serving as one thing of a mentor, regarded forward to Wednesday and mentioned: “It’s always a privilege to be on court with him.”
The different quarterfinal on Wednesday will characteristic No. 1 Jannik Sinner towards unseeded Alexander Bublik, the primary man from Kazakhstan to succeed in this stage at any Grand Slam event. The first two males’s quarterfinals have been scheduled for Tuesday and, surprisingly, each concerned an American: defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain vs. No. 12 Tommy Paul, and No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy vs. No. 15 Frances Tiafoe.
There was some buzz after first-match losses in Monte Carlo and Madrid about whether or not Djokovic ought to even be thought of a contender this time round at Roland Garros, though he has claimed the trophy there thrice. He is also the one participant to beat 14-time champion Rafael Nadal greater than as soon as on the French Open.
Both of these April setbacks got here towards unseeded opponents – Alejandro Tabilo and Matteo Arnaldi – and each have been over in straight units.
So Zverev was requested Tuesday whether or not Djokovic, whose latest stoop dropped him to No. 6 within the seedings, may now be seen as a darkish horse in Paris.
The premise appeared misguided to Zverev, a three-time runner-up at main tournaments – together with to Alcaraz at Roland Garros a 12 months in the past and to Sinner at Melbourne Park this 12 months.
“I mean, the guy won 24 Grand Slams. He’s never going to be a dark horse. He definitely knows how to play tennis,” Zverev mentioned. “He definitely knows what it means to be on the big stage and to play big matches. There is no doubt about that.”
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Source: www.dailysabah.com