French Open
Zverev demanded by Paris in the next night shift
Germany’s Alexander Zverev celebrates after his victory. photo
© Jean-Francois Badias/AP/dpa
Alexander Zverev is the favorite in his round of 16 at the French Open. Against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, the record speaks for the Olympic champion. Again it comes under escape light to the point.
For Alexander Zverev, the next night shift at the French Open is about getting into the quarter-finals. As a favorite, the tennis Olympic champion meets the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the round of the top 16. For the third time in a row, the 26-year-old gets the big limelight in the so-called night session at the clay court classic in Paris and does not play before 8:15 p.m.
The most important things about the round of 16 of the last German professional in the individual competition at a glance:
The quote about the game: “Night sessions are generally nice to play, but it’s more pleasant for the body if you finish the day at 3, 4, 5 p.m. and then go to bed at eleven o’clock in the evening.” (Alexander Zverev)
The balance of the game: Zverev and Dimitrow have met four times so far. The German prevailed three times, most recently in 2021 at the Masters tournament in Paris on hard court in three tight sets. Zverev also won the only encounter on sand so far, in 2016 in Rome he only gave up five games.
The number for the game: 43 – since Zverev has to defend the points from last year’s semi-finals, he is currently 43rd in the live world rankings. The former second only prevents him from being in the official ranking that appears after the tournament by reaching the quarter-finals , falls out of the top 40. Most recently, Zverev was beyond the first 40 more than seven years ago in May 2016.
The routine for the game: Given the late start time, he went back to sleep several times during the day, Zverev reported after winning the second round over Slovakian Alex Molcan. After the game: showers, ice bath, food, press conference, two hours of treatment – and sometime around four hours after the end of the game it’s time to go to bed.
The TV broadcast of the game: Eurosport broadcasts the French Open and thus Zverev’s game on Monday evening. Boris Becker is one of the experts on duty. All of the tournament’s games can also be followed in the chargeable live stream on discovery+.