'At the moment Djokovic's a bit underrated', says Zverev after French Open SF loss
After losing to Novak Djokovic in the French Open semifinal, last year's finalist Alexander Zverev reflected on defeat to three-time Roland Garros
- PARIS — After losing to Novak Djokovic in the French Open semifinal, last
year's finalist Alexander Zverev reflected on defeat to three-time Roland
Garros champion and called the Serbian great an "underrated player".
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- The 24-time major champion Djokovic, who has suffered
consecutive opening-round defeats to start the clay-court swing, has rediscovered
his best form at the perfect time in his quest for a record 25th major trophy.
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- The sixth seed Serbian did not arrive in Paris as the
leading favourite, but delivered a tactically astute display to prevail 4-6,
6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and reach a record-extending 51st Grand Slam semi-final.
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- “I think at the moment he's a bit underrated, to be
honest,” Zverev said of Djokovic. “Funny that you say that, but I think like a
lot of people count him out already, but this year he's had wins over Carlos at
the Australian Open, he has had a win over me at the French Open. Forget the
age. I think for any player, those are pretty good results. He’s still beating
the best of the best, So I think everybody needs to respect that," Zverev
was quoted by ATP Tour.
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- The last time Djokovic faced Zverev, he was walking off
the court solemnly after injury put a premature end to their Australian Open
semifinal in January.
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- But on Wednesday night in Paris — after more than three
hours of battle on court Philippe-Chatrier — the 24-time Grand Slam champion
rallied from a set behind to keep his quest for a record-setting 25th Grand
Slam title going into the semifinals.
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- “He's won 24 of these things. I think, yes, I expected
him to be able to play like this. I have not seen him play like this this year
yet. I think it was very, very high level from him. It was at some point
difficult for me. I mean, in the first set when the sun was not completely
down, there was still some heat on the court. I could still, I felt like, hit
some winners and do some damage with my serve. Then later on when it got
really, really cold, I couldn't really do much," Zverev added.
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- Djokovic, who arrived in Paris fresh off claiming the
title in Geneva, set a semifinal with top seed Jannik Sinner. Should he win
that, and if No.2 seed Carlos Alcaraz tops Lorenzo Musetti in the other
semifinal, Djokovic may have the opportunity to achieve something never before
done. No man has defeated the top 3 ranked players to win a Grand Slam
tournament in the history of the ATP rankings.
