Former world No 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has declared Alexander Zverev is “on a mission” at the 2026 French Open as he shared some interesting information about the German’s time in Paris.
World No 3 Zverev, who is seeded second at Roland Garros, is chasing his maiden Grand Slam title, having previously lost in three major finals.
Carlos Alcaraz, the world No 2 and two-time reigning French Open champion, withdrew before the tournament due to a wrist injury.
Zverev became the strong favourite to triumph on the Parisian clay after the shock early exits of world No 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time Slam champion Novak Djokovic meant no major winners were left in the draw.
The 29-year-old is widely considered to be one of the best players in tennis history not to win a Grand Slam title.
The German has won 24 ATP Tour singles titles, including an Olympic gold medal, two ATP Finals crowns and seven Masters 1000 titles.
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Speaking on Amazon Prime Video France, Tsonga revealed he spoke to Zverev’s team before his semi-final match against Jakub Mensik at Roland Garros.
“In any case, one thing is certain, he’s on a mission,” said the Frenchman, who was a runner-up at the 2008 Australian Open.
“I ran into his team yesterday and they told me he wasn’t leaving his [hotel] room, except for an hour or an hour and a half when he called his team, who had to be absolutely available to go eat and get a little fresh air.
“But the rest of the time, he’s focused on the objective.”
If Zverev defeats Mensik, he will face either Flavio Cobolli or Matteo Arnaldi in the championship match on Sunday.
Following his quarter-final victory against Rafael Jodar, Zverev expressed his focus on the task ahead when asked if he was excited to reach his fifth French Open semi-final.
“Not really. I don’t really care! I want to keep going, of course, I want to be in the tournament,” said Zverev
“I want to win the matches that are ahead of me. That’s my goal, that’s my aim.”
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