Zverev eyes French Open but wary of Djokovic ´at his best´

ROME: Alexander Zverev is gunning for the French Open after winning his second Rome Open title on Sunday, but warned of the ever-present danger posed by defending Roland Garros champion, Novak Djokovic.

World number five Zverev, also Foro Italico champion in 2017, comfortably won his sixth Masters 1000 title by beating Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 7-5 and is eyeing glory at the Paris clay-court Grand Slam, which gets underway next weekend. Zverev has endured a bittersweet relationship with Roland Garros.

In the 2022 semi-finals he suffered an awful ankle injury and was forced to quit, allowing Rafael Nadal to reach the final and win the last of his 22 Grand Slams. “In general it´s always the tournament that I mark down in my calendar,” Zverev told reporters. “This year there´s no exception. That´s the one that I want to win, the one that I look for the most maybe throughout the year. I´m going to do everything I can this year.”