Paris: Alexander Zverev has emerged as the main threat to Rafael Nadal’s French Open crown in recent weeks as he bids to end Germany’s 81-year wait for a men’s singles title at the Roland Garros here.
The 21-year-old suffered his fifth defeat in five meetings with Nadal in Sunday’s Italian Open final, but the way he fought back from losing the first set 1-6 only enhanced his already-burgeoning clay court credentials.
The rising star has never reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament, but he will be the second seed at the French Open after winning his second Masters title on clay in Madrid, where he beat Nadal’s conqueror Dominic Thiem in the final.
A run of 13 wins in a row was only ended by 10-time French Open winner Nadal, and Zverev is looking to continue his momentum.
“I try to play the same way, play the same way over a longer period of time, which will be in Paris,” he said Tuesday.
“Right now, the next few days, I won’t even think about tennis. And then I’ll go to Paris and do my best to prepare and try to compete for the French Open.
“Of course, Rafa will be the favourite there, there’s no question about it. I’ll be in the other half of the draw. So, that’s a good thing,” added the Russian-origin player.
Nadal had earlier that Thiem was ‘probably one of the three best clay court players on tour’, but the last fortnight has shown that Zverev is potentially even more dangerous.
“I was not far away from beating Rafa on a clay court in a Masters final. So I guess I can take that as a positive into Paris,” asserted Zverev.
“Great backhands help. But right now, I’m 0-5 in head to head. I don’t know. We’ll see next time I play him. But right now, he’s in control of me,” the youngster (in comparison to Nadal), added.
Incidentally, the last German man to lift La Coupe des Mousquetaires was Henner Henkel, who later died in World War II’s ‘Battle of Stalingrad’, in 1937 under the flag of Nazi Germany.
