Alexander Zverev’s memorable victory over Rafael Nadal in the first round of the French Open 2024 has been the talking point of the tennis town after it supposedly ended the 14-time winner’s career at the French Open.
What it has also done is to help bookmakers slash his title winning odds at Roland-Garros to 11/2 (check latest French Open odds here), having been 7/1 at the start of that encounter.
The German was clinical in his 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Nadal and despite glimmers of fight from the former world number one, it was all over in straight sets.
Watched by the who’s who of tennis including Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz, Zverev withstood his opponent’s second set comeback, the pressure of expectations and playing in front of tennis royalty to clinch his second round berth.
And that’s where Zverev scores over some of his other rivals – his ability to put mind over matter that has seen him defy odds and grab many a titles, including the Rome Masters in the lead-up to this competition in Paris.
Leading the pack still are Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner who are 12/5, 4/1 and 17/4 respectively to win the title. While Alcaraz and Sinner eased through to the second round, Djokovic plays in his opener on Tuesday, May 28.
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