Alexander Zverev vs. Carlos Alcaraz may be the appetizer to the main course that is Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal.
Still, Tuesday’s opening Roland Garros quarterfinal contest offers plenty of intrigue.
The protagonists of this showdown may not be all-time greats (at least not yet), but they do provide plenty of storylines. Zverev is still in search of an elusive Grand Slam title, having finished runner-up at the 2020 U.S. Open to Dominic Thiem (lost the final in a fifth-set tiebreaker). The third-ranked German is now a four-time French Open quarterfinalist–including a semifinal appearance last spring, when he came within one set of the championship match before falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Meanwhile, Alcaraz is the tour’s breakout star of 2022. Both are legitimate contenders for La Coupe des Mousquetaires.
At the moment, though, one appears to be in a league above. That would be Alcaraz, who is 32-3 this season and currently second behind Rafael Nadal in the live race to Turin. The 19-year-old’s 2022 campaign includes titles in Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Barcelona, and Madrid. In the Madrid final he destroyed none other than Zverev 6-3, 6-1.
Alcaraz endured a huge scare in the second round last week, when he went five sets with compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas–even saving a match point in the process. That may have been a perfect wakeup call, however, as the world No. 6 has since erased Sebastian Korda and Karen Khachanov in easy straight sets. Zverev also saved a match point in the second round, outlasting Sebastian Baez 2-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5. The 25-year-old followed that up with victories over Brandon Nakashima and Bernabe Zapata Miralles, but neither was routine.
Based on current form and the recent Madrid result, this could be straightforward for Alcaraz. In fact, in the entire draw perhaps only Nadal and Novak Djokovic would have a chance against the teenage sensation.
Pick: Alcaraz in 3
WWW?
Zverev in 4
Hard to imagine Zverev making much of a dent. Maybe one set if he serves well, but no more than that.
Zverev in five is my take. Zverev is experienced in slams and the more the match drags on, the better his chances against Alcaraz.
Alcaraz makes tons of errors in his matches but he hits plenty of winners as well, but if the match drags on to five sets, chances of him making more errors than hitting winners will increase.
Zverev may want to salvage his pride against this young prodigy; having played and lost to Alcaraz at Madrid final may give him some ideas of what to expect from Alcaraz. I think he’ll fare better than at Madrid, he may lose in four sets, but probably wins in five sets.
@ Lucky, I’m kinda leaning towards ure assessment! Zverev has played a bit scrappy but he’s winning his matches in tight sets. He’s serving quite well too! I believe he can beat Carlos if he fights like in his previous matches. His groundies r solid too! Zverev should be able to do this. I think both Carlos and Zverev faced match points so hoping this match is a cracker!!!
Zverev in 5.
Nadal in 5.
Poor Ricky cant get a prediction correct, so he has to try to make other people look bad.
Seriously, how bad are your predictions, and you run a “prediction website”. Might be time to find a new hobby.
shut up troll.
Thank you for your useless post
Aimed at the troll, not the anonymous reply!
Zv always tough in the Majors…he can get at least one set….Carlos in 4.
Zv already has the wrong strategy, y is he so FAR behind the baseline?!!! He needs to remain on top of the baseline to put pressure on Alcaraz! He should try to shorten points and not give Alcaraz any rhythm! Long rallies early is not a good idea!
Alcaraz is good to watch though. He has a nice game and is very mature too for his age.
Holger Rune comparatively is a bit cocky.
Eager to see a match between both some day.
Glad to c Zverev move closer to the baseline then it will force more errors from Alcaraz! This baseline slugging is not a good strategy, he needs to mix things up a bit to give himself a chance or to at least go to a fifth!
Zverev breaks. He is looking the stronger of the 2 atm…
He still standing way behind..imagine if he steps up ,how much damage he can do with his easy power.
Z has come to play. Carlos making way too many errors
Not easy to control the shots if he moves closer to the baseline, as he’s hitting as hard as possible, may overhit instead. I doubt he has the precision that the big three possess.
Lucky,
Great point. That is the problem with moving up closer to the baseline. Zverev is doing what he has to do right now. He won the first set. Alcaraz does not look sharp. We will see how he handles being behind.
Nobody seemed to give Zverev a chance. He is not no. 3 for nothing. He has had some tough matches and come through.
Will we get a nadal zverev sf.
.hehe
I like the way Zverev returns serves by hitting some of the returns DTL instead of going CC all the time, and that’s what I wish Rafa would do for a change.
These days, everyone is returning serves from very far behind the baseline on clay, hardly the case in the past. I wonder why, maybe the clay surface is getting quicker and so the returner needs more time to figure out the direction of the serve?
I don’t mind they stand back to return serves, just move to baseline after u do so u can play more aggressive and be more offensive. When u stand so far back ure returns don’t have much pop and ure opponent can dictate play better. That’s all I’m saying !!
🤣😂😂😂😂 @ Sanju!!
Yes!! At least Zverev is playing well so far and is going for his shots, I like that! Alcaraz serving is horrendous and is making too many errors!! There is no way he is beating either Rafa or Nole playing like this!!
But it’s still early days yet, let’s c if Zverev can hold on and he needs to keep the pressure on Alcaraz serves!
Both of them hitting as hard as possible and see who misses first! I think they’re trying to overpower each other, maybe it’s no choice for Zverev as Alcaraz is simply too quick around the court and get to so many balls, so he has to force errors out of Alcaraz’s hard hitting.
Zverev takes the first set.
He looks like the better player today. Alcaraz hitting loads of ues.
Think some people are forgetting he was very fortunate to survive that match against ARV.
Good set from Zverev, good game plan. So happy that Zverev at least get the commentators to shut up! I can’t stand all hype over Alcaraz, as if he has already won the match without even playing, and as if Zverev is non existent!
I agree!! It’s not like he’s wiping the floor with Zverev like most were anticipating!! Carlos may still win but at least he knows it’s NOT going to be a walk in the park! Zverev still needs to keep the pressure on and move inside the court to finish points early! Keep serving well and give no rhythm to Alcaraz!!
Yes I agree with that!
Have they forgotten that ARV had match point which he blew!
The hype around Alcaraz is absurd…
He has beaten the top players when they have all been sub par. He hasn’t actually beaten any of them playing at their real , let alone top, level.
Well yes but that is bcoz Zverev has been missing his first serves so he has less chance to dictate play on second but once he gets first serve on Alcaraz has NO chance!!
I agree! The commies need to just shut up already! The hyperbole with Alcaraz is just way over the top. It is disturbing to see them assume that he has won the match before it started.
Even ppl on my streaming site r complaining about the commies saying that they r acting like Zverev is not even playing and it’s only Alcaraz they’re talking about!
It’s like ppl completely forgot that Ramos served for the match against Alcaraz! So he’s NOT unbeatable!!