Zverev names Alcaraz as top favorite, ranks himself and Djokovic closely behind

Novak Djokovic may not be the number one in the world anymore, but he cannot be considered a shadow favorite, claims the third seed at Roland Garros, Alexander Zverev.

Djokovic and the tennis player from Hamburg will cross rackets for the 14th time on Wednesday, with the Serbian leading in victories with 8:5. Due to an injury, Novak could not finish the match against Zverev Zimus in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, but four months later a new opportunity arrived, in the quarter-finals of the tournament in Paris.

When he heard that they were talking about Novak as a "favorite from the shadows", the German just laughed.

"He's a favorite from the shadows? Well, that man has won 24 Grand Slam titles, he will never be a favorite from the shadows. He definitely knows what is needed on the big stage and in the biggest matches, there's no doubt about that," said Zverev.

The order of favorites according to Zverev is interesting, which obviously shows that he believes he can beat the Serbian tennis player in the duel on Wednesday.

"For me, the first favorite is Carlos Alcaraz. I said it before. Then in the next line are Jannik Sinner, me and Novak, right? I still believe in that. Novak is here with us, there is no question," Alexander said.

Both he and Novak were at PSG's celebration after winning the Champions League trophy. Zverev took a photo with the Champions League trophy, and Novak managed to joke with his opponent, writing a message under the photo.

"Tell the truth. You were there because you were spying on my game. Seeing the trophy was just an excuse," joked Novak.

Matches with Djokovic

Zverev recalled some earlier matches with Djokovic, including that quarterfinal in 2019 when the Serbian ace won easily with 3:0 in sets.

"He was much better than me then, especially at the Grand Slam level. We played a tight first set, and then he won me quite easily. Since then we had many battles, I had several big victories over him, but I am experienced and suffered heavy defeats from him," added Zverev, who in his career, in three Grand Slam finals, did not manage to reach the title.

Sascha has no doubt that it will be difficult with Novak this time as well.

"He always said that he doesn't feel like he's 38 years old and he shows it on the court. The history of our rivalry is long. This will be another fierce fight and I can't wait for it to start," Zverev concluded.