Zverev comes back from the brink, defeats Griekspoor in five-set classic

Alexander Zverev’s Roland Garros title hopes hung by a thread on Saturday. But with the German staring defeat in the face, he somehow survived to reach the fourth round in Paris for the seventh consecutive year.

In a thrilling third-round clash under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the fourth seed rallied from a double a break down in the fifth set to overcome resilient Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(10-3).

"Wow, incredible match. Incredible player. He is unbelievably dangerous," Zverev said after improving to 4-1 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series. "I always struggle against him. I don't like to play against him but all the credit to him, taking it all the way. It was one or two points here and there. Incredible player and fighter until the end. The atmosphere today was unbelievable. I loved every second of it."

After leading by two-sets-to-one, Zverev started to struggle on his forehand. Griekspoor targeted that wing, with the German striking the ball passively and committing regular errors. Zverev’s dip in level, combined with Griekspoor’s rise in intensity allowed the Dutchman to move into a 4-1 lead in the deciding set.

However, with the finish line in sight, Griekspoor started to show signs of nerves on serve, committing three double faults across two games to allow Zverev to level at 4-4. With confidence growing, Zverev then began to hit through the ball more and played some of his best tennis in the fifth-set tie-break to advance after four hours and 13 minutes of gruelling tennis.

Zverev defeated record 14-time champion Rafael Nadal in the first round before he beat David Goffin in the second round. The No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, who hit 55 winners and committed 41 unforced errors against Griekspoor, is chasing his first major title and has now won his past nine matches, having captured his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Rome earlier this month.

The fourth seed is a three-time semi-finalist in Paris and will look to continue his run at this year’s event against 13th-seeded Dane Holger Rune, who eased past Slovakian Jozef Kovalik 7-5, 6-1, 7-6(2).

Griekspoor was chasing his third Top 10 win. The 26th seed, who is a two-time tour-level titlist, was aiming to reach the fourth round at a major for the first time, having fallen in the third round at the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024.

Did You Know?
Zverev holds a 9-1 five-set record at Roland Garros.