Alexander Zverev has soared into the third round of the French Open after a straight-sets victory over Tomas Machac.
Zverev defeated his Czech opponent 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 on Philippe Chatrier, having beaten Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi on the same court in round one.
The ATP number three won that clash 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, and now faces another home player – Quentin Halys – in round three of the French Open.
Zverev has a great chance of a maiden major at the event, and the German has now revealed the tactic he is adopting to try and do exactly that in Paris.
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Alexander Zverev shares his tactic to try and win the French Open
Zverev was told after his latest win that he’s hitting more drop shots than ever before, and was subsequently asked if such an approach makes playing more fun.
He replied: “Yeah look, obviously something has stopped me at this stage, you know, from winning. I’ve won on every stage except this stage.
“I’ve talked about it so many times this year, at the end of last year we sat down with my team and we said we have to do something different.
“We have to try more things, we have to try to be more aggressive, we have to try to hit the ball harder, we have to maybe come in a bit more, maybe a bit more variety as well.
“And so far it’s working. I’m happy to be through and we’ll see how the next 10 days go. But I’m happy where I am.
“I have to be confident in my game, and moving forward I’m looking forward to being back, hopefully on this court.”
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 2020 | US Open | Hard | Dominic Thiem | 6–2, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6, 6–7(6–8) |
| Loss | 2024 | French Open | Clay | Carlos Alcaraz | 3–6, 6–2, 7–5, 1–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 2025 | Australian Open | Hard | Jannik Sinner | 3–6, 6–7(4–7), 3–6 |
| Win | 2026 | French Open | Clay | Flavio Cobolli | 6–1, 4–6, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–1 |
Alexander Zverev sends classy message to Tomas Machac at the French Open
It was also put to Zverev after beating Machac that he’s hitting the ball so well, with his serve and forehand looking particularly impressive.
When asked why that might be the case, the experienced German responded: “Yeah, I’m trying to improve like everybody.
“But yeah today I thought for one and a half sets it was amazing level from both of us. I thought we played really, really good.
“Also Tomas played really, really good. Unfortunately the injury kind of stopped the match flow a little bit, you know?
“I thought it was a fantastic level, and then of course the level dropped obviously. But I’m happy to finish it in three sets.
“As a player it’s always difficult when the opponent is injured, because you still have a job to do, you still have to win the match. But yeah, unfortunately for Tomas I hope it’s nothing too serious.”
While Zverev will undoubtedly be taking the Grand Slam one match at a time, he may already be aware of his path to the title.
And that could involve a semifinal meeting with 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, followed by a possible final with world number one Jannik Sinner.
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