French Open in Paris, third round, Saturday, 5/31/2025, 1:10 p.m.
There it was, the first little wobble! Alexander Zverev has advanced to the third round of the French Open and seems to have recovered from losing the first set. Nevertheless, caution is advised, as his opponents will not get any easier.
On Saturday, he will face the man who won the Bitpanda Open in Hamburg a few days ago. The German is the clear favorite for the third time, but I don’t think he will get through without making any mistakes. Accordingly, my Zverev Cobolli tip is that at least one set will go to the underdog.
Nothing happened – but the fans have been warned nonetheless. Alexander Zverev won 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 against Jesper de Jong in the second round of the French Open. The Dutchman had nine chances to break, but luckily for Zverev, he only took two of them.
Zverev only gave Learner Tien four opportunities, which is not exactly an improvement. He also failed to maintain his 90% first serve percentage, having to settle for 67%.
“The first set was definitely not my best. Now I’m just happy that I won. Jesper played fantastically at the beginning. But my last three sets were also very good tennis, so I’m really happy with that,” Zverev said after three hours on court.
The 28-year-old has now reached the third round of the French Open for the eighth time in a row. But last year’s finalist knows that he has competed on the big stage 37 times without ever winning a title.
Three semi-finals, one final – if it weren’t for the burning desire to win a trophy, he could be very proud of this run. Zverev is also well aware that his current opponent is a tough nut to crack.
Zverev has never played Flavio Cobolli before. The first difference between the two players is that the German is 15 centimeters taller, which should help him with his serve.
Zverev has the bookmakers on his side, with average odds of 1.17. Cobolli, on the other hand, has odds of 4.50 – which the Italian can certainly live with.
At the 2024 Australian Open, the Italian reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the only time in his career, losing clearly to Alex de Minaur. A place in the last 16? That would be a first for him.
A year ago, he came close to causing a sensation in Paris, losing in the second round in five sets to Holger Rune. Cobolli’s talent has been evident in recent days.
He started with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 win over Marin Cilic, followed a few days later by a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 victory over Matteo Arnaldi. 6/9 and 10/19 – his break point conversion rate is well over 50 percent.
Nevertheless, Cobolli is not a brilliant, hard-hitting server. With 52% of his first serves in, 70% of points won on his first serve and 53% on his second, there is room for improvement, especially when compared to Alexander Zverev.
But Cobolli proved that it’s not just the serve that counts just before the start of the French Open. In Hamburg, it was he who came out on top in the end. He triumphed 6-2, 6-4 against Andrey Rublev in the final.
Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Roberto Bautista Agut, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Vitaly Sachko were also unable to prevail against Cobilli. The 23-year-old came back from behind twice and won three times in straight sets, demonstrating his nerves of steel.
The Italian had already been celebrated as champion in Bucharest at the beginning of April, so he is clearly in good form. Cobolli may lack experience in Grand Slam tournaments, but there is no better stage for a surprise than the biggest one.
My Zverev Cobolli tip
Alexander Zverev still has everything under control at the French Open, but the first set against Jesper de Jong showed how quickly his game can turn. With Flavio Cobolli, he now faces an opponent who is anything but easy.
The German may have the edge in terms of serve, but the reigning Hamburg champion is capable of surprising anyone at the moment. I’ve been very impressed by his performances in recent weeks, so I don’t think it will be a clear-cut match on Saturday and I’m going for:
Cobolli to win at least one set against Zverev!
