French Open 2024: Zverev survives Griekspoor marathon to reach fourth round

Zverev had not dropped a set in his opening two matches, including a first-round win over Rafael Nadal, but he was on the back foot when the Dutch 26th seed won the opening set.

Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates his victory against Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the Men’s Singles third round match during Day Seven of the 2024 French Open at Roland Garros on June 01, 2024 in Paris, France. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

World number four Alexander Zverev survived a marathon match to beat Tallon Griekspoor 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3) in the French Open third round on Saturday and keep alive his hopes of a first Grand Slam title.

Zverev, a semi-finalist for the last three years, had not dropped a set in his opening two matches, including a first-round win over Rafael Nadal, but he was on the back foot when the Dutch 26th seed won the opening set.

The German finally broke serve when leading 5-4 in the second set to level the match and made lighter work of the third set, and when Griekspoor took a medical timeout, it appeared that Zverev would have little trouble closing out victory.

However, the Dutch 27-year-old forced a deciding set and held a 4-1 advantage after two breaks of serve before Zverev roared back to win four consecutive games.

Griekspoor kept his nerve to force a tiebreak, but after an enthralling match lasting over four hours on Court Philippe Chatrier, Zverev fired down an ace to clinch the tiebreak.