Alexander Zverev spoils lucky loser De Jong’s birthday with straight sets victory

PARIS: Second seed Alexander Zverev cruised past lucky loser Jesper De Jong 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-1 on Sunday to book his spot in the French Open quarterfinal and edge closer to an elusive maiden Grand Slam title. The French Open is seen as the 29-year-old’s best chance to finally land the first Grand Slam trophy of his career, with many of the top contenders, including world number one Jannik Sinner and 24-timed major champion Novak Djokovic, already eliminated.

The pair traded breaks in the first set before Zverev won the tiebreak to take control of the match. De Jong, ranked 106th in the world who came into the main draw as a lucky loser, was playing the biggest match of his career on his 26th birthday but there was little joy for him.

Zverev, who has now reached the quarterfinal in Paris eight times, was too strong, firing baseline winners seemingly at will, and earning two set points on De Jong’s serve at 5-4. He needed only one to move two sets up after the Dutchman sank a volley into the net. The world number three then powered to a 3-0 lead in the third and wrapped up the match a little later when De Jong sent a backhand into the net. Agencies

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