Alexander Zverev’s chances of winning his first major have just increased after big withdrawal at Roland Garros

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Alexander Zverev will continue his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

The German came agonisingly close to reaching the Australian Open final earlier this year, having fallen in a thrilling five-set match against Carlos Alcaraz.

Zverev went within a game of knocking out eventual champion Alcaraz, but the 22-year-old fought back and went on to become the youngest ever player to complete the Career Grand Slam.

Is men’s tennis boring without Carlos Alcaraz?

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Now, the world number three will set his sights on the French Open, where he has made deep runs in previous years.

Zverev was handed a good draw in Paris, and it has just gotten even more favourable following a big withdrawal.

Arthur Fils withdraws from the 2026 French Open

Home hope Arthur Fils has officially withdrawn from the 2026 edition of the French Open due to injury.

The Frenchman said he isn’t sure if it’s a hip or back injury, but stated it is painful, as per Reem Abulleil on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Fils was placed in Zverev’s quarter of the draw and was arguably the biggest threat to the 29-year-old in his section.

With Fils’ withdrawal, Zverev’s path to the quarterfinals is now looking very comfortable, and he is projected to face an out-of-form Taylor Fritz in the last eight.

He’ll likely have to battle past Novak Djokovic in the semifinals should he get there, with the Serb seeded third in Paris.

Alexander Zverev’s results at the French Open over the years

Zverev made his Roland Garros debut back in 2016, and won two matches to reach the third round.

He suffered a round-one exit the year after, but then made back-to-back quarterfinals in 2018 and 2019.

After making the fourth round in 2020, Zverev reached three consecutive semifinals at Roland Garros between 2021 and 2023, before finally advancing to the final in 2024.

That year, Zverev beat Rafael Nadal, Holger Rune, Alex de Minaur and Casper Ruud en route to the championship match, where he ultimately fell to Alcaraz.

Last season, Zverev was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Djokovic in four sets.