Alexander Zverev on French Open night sessions: "Somewhere that's not so healthy for the player who wins"
Alexander Zverev booked his place in the fourth round of the 2023 French Open with a solid four-set victory over Frances Tiafoe on Saturday. He beat the American 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 7-6 (5).
Playing in the night session at Roland Garros, which begins around 8 pm local time, the German toiled for three hours and 42 minutes before grabbing the final point of the match at 12:18 am the next morning.
Touching on the lateness of the finish in a recent interview, Zverev said:
"If you don't win in three sets and then play four or five sets, you'll still be here after midnight," Alexander Zverev said, as quoted by Eurosport.
Attending press conferences after that set the former World No. 2 back by another hour, meaning that he couldn't go to bed before four or five in the morning. Highlighting the issue, Alexander Zverev opined that this was not healthy for the winner at all, who then had to play another match the next day.
"You don't go to bed before four or five in the morning. Somewhere that's not so healthy for the player who wins the match and then has to play again the next day," Alexander Zverev said.
Alexander Zverev to take on Grigor Dimitrov in French Open fourth round in another night session
On Monday (June 5), Alexander Zverev will return to court once again during the night, where he will lock horns with Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round of the 2023 French Open.
While Zverev took down Frances Tiafoe, Dimitrov knocked down Daniel Altmaier in straight sets in the third round to set up a meeting with a German for the second match in a row.
The duo have met four times on tour previously, with Zverev holding a 3-1 lead in the head-to-head. The World No. 27 has won their last three meetings on the trot, beating Dimitrov most recently at the 2021 Paris Masters. They have met once on clay before, at the 2016 Rome Masters, which Zverev won in straight sets.
A victory against Dimitrov would pit Zverev against either Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarterfinals. A possible semifinal clash against either fourth seed Casper Ruud or sixth seed Holger Rune is very much on the cards as well.
Meanwhile, top seed Carlos Alcaraz and third seed Novak Djokovic are the main favorites to reach the final of the 2023 Roland Garros from the top half of the draw.