Alexander Zverev has boldly predicted that Carlos Alcaraz is a guaranteed finalist at this year’s French Open, brushing aside the chances of the seven remaining players in the Spaniard’s half of the draw. The world No. 3, who lost to Alcaraz in last year’s championship match, expressed unwavering confidence in the young star, stating, “I honestly think that Carlos will be in the final.”
Zverev faces a challenging road in the top half of the draw, potentially clashing with Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic en route to the final. Still, he doesn’t believe the likes of Ben Shelton or Lorenzo Musetti will pose much threat to Alcaraz in the bottom half.
While several contenders have shown signs of vulnerability during the first week at Roland Garros — Zverev dropped a set to Jesper De Jong, Alcaraz lost one to Damir Dzumhur, and Sinner had to rally from a double-break deficit — the German insists these early struggles are irrelevant in the long run.
“Novak hasn’t lost a set yet. Jannik, I don’t think, has lost a set yet. Carlos has. I have lost a set. But doesn’t matter,” Zverev remarked.
He added:
“I honestly think that Carlos will be in the final, to be very fair. I don’t think there is anybody on that side of the draw who will challenge him too much. I think he’s the favourite, of course, coming into the tournament. I mean, I think everybody kind of realised that.”
Alcaraz, the defending champion, will next face 13th seed Ben Shelton, with a potential quarter-final matchup against either Tommy Paul or Alexei Popyrin. In the semifinals, he could come up against Musetti, Holger Rune, Frances Tiafoe, or Daniel Altmaier.
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