Alexander Zverev will enter the French Open as the third seed, but questions remain over whether the German can finally claim his first Grand Slam title.
The 28-year-old, who hails from Hamburg, is making his 10th appearance at Roland Garros and playing in his 37th Grand Slam main draw. Although he’s regularly considered one of the top players, Zverev is still searching for that elusive breakthrough.
He came close last year, reaching the French Open final before losing to Carlos Alcaraz. He had also made the semi-finals in Paris for three years in a row before that. Earlier this year, he reached the Australian Open final but was well beaten by Jannik Sinner.
Zverev has spent eight years ranked inside the world’s top 10 but has never managed to reach the number one spot. At first, the dominance of Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer stood in his way. Then came the rise of Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem — the latter beating him in the 2020 US Open final. Now, younger stars like Sinner and Alcaraz have taken over, already winning seven Grand Slam titles between them.
Despite his powerful serve and world-class backhand, Zverev often struggles to take control of big matches. He’s known for getting stuck in long, tiring battles that cost him energy in the later rounds of tournaments.
He admitted that losing to Sinner in Melbourne affected his confidence, though a title win in Munich in April briefly lifted hopes for a strong clay court season. However, defeats to Francisco Cerundolo in Madrid and Lorenzo Musetti in Rome followed.
Still, Zverev has proven he can go deep in Paris. Last year, he knocked out Rafael Nadal in the first round and beat top names like Holger Rune and Casper Ruud before falling in the final.
“Last year at the French I played a fantastic match and came up just short against Carlos,” Zverev said.
As Roland Garros 2025 begins, Zverev is again expected to make a strong run. But with Sinner and Alcaraz standing in his way, the big question remains: can he finally go all the way, or will it be another case of so near, yet so far?
