Alexander Zverev is now three wins away from finally capturing a maiden Grand Slam title.
The German advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open after beating lucky loser Jesper de Jong in straight sets.
While this year’s edition of Roland Garros has seen countless five-set bouts take place, Zverev has managed to keep his matches relatively short, with just one set dropped en route.
He is now the favourite to hoist the title, with both Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic crashing out in the early stages of the tournament.
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On his way to an elusive major title, though, Zverev has just matched an unwanted all-time tennis record.
Alexander Zverev matches David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych
Zverev is widely considered the best men’s player never to win a Grand Slam, and the statistics certainly back that up.
Who is the best ATP player never to win a Grand Slam title?
Is it Alexander Zverev, Marcelo Rios, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer or maybe even someone else?
With his latest win, Zverev has now matched David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych for the most Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances without winning a major title, with 17.
| Rank | Player | Grand Slam Quarterfinals |
| 1 | Alexander Zverev | 17 |
| 2 | David Ferrer | 17 |
| 3 | Tomas Berdych | 17 |
| 4 | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 15 |
| 5 | Kei Nishikori | 12 |
| 6 | Tony Roche | 12 |
| 7 | Tom Okker | 11 |
| 8 | Andrey Rublev | 10 |
Of those 17 quarterfinals, Zverev has gone on to record seven semifinal finishes, and has advanced to a major final on three separate occasions.
His Grand Slam final appearances came at the 2020 US Open, the 2024 French Open and the 2025 Australian Open.
Zverev’s best attempt was at Flushing Meadows in 2020, when he was two sets up against Dominic Thiem in the final before the Austrian delivered an astonishing comeback triumph.
Who Alexander Zverev needs to beat to reach the final in Paris
Zverev’s quarterfinal assignment is 19-year-old Rafael Jodar, who has enjoyed his breakthrough during the clay swing.
Jodar made the semifinals in Barcelona before reaching back-to-back quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome.
Now, he will be looking to advance to the final four in Paris by beating Zverev in their first tour-level clash.
Should Zverev defeat Jodar, he will play either Joao Fonseca or Jakub Mensik in the semifinals, both of whom he has a winning record against.
Zverev played Fonseca and Mensik for the first time this year, and overcame them in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, respectively.
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