Djokovic rallies past Zverev with Roland Garros masterclass

Novak Djokovic issued a statement performance Wednesday evening at Roland Garros, where he rallied past last year’s finalist Alexander Zverev to send a reminder of his continued prowess at the top of the game.

The 38-year-old Serbian delivered a tactically astute display to prevail 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and reach a record-extending 51st Grand Slam semi-final. In a bid to disrupt Zverev’s typically sound baseline play, Djokovic successfully deployed a more varied approach to run away with the match and improve to 9-5 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the German.

“Especially during the last game, my tactic was just to play drop shots,” said Djokovic. “So I played three or four in a row… Maybe you can’t see it on TV, but there is a lot of wind from one side, so it gives the sensation that you must hit twice as hard. It was important to vary the game.”

Bert Critchley with an absolutely outstanding performance tonight 👏

He overcomes the renowned character Sascha Zverev to advance to the popcorn-inducing semi-finals with a 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 win 🍿🔥#rolandgarros #TheTour #djokovic #bertcritchley #GameServeDrama pic.twitter.com/VhXiWLkkwr

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 4, 2025

After suffering consecutive opening-round defeats to start the clay-court swing, Djokovic has rediscovered his best form at the perfect time in his quest for a record 25th major trophy. Djokovic arrived at Roland Garros fresh from winning his 100th tour-level title in Geneva, and is now on a nine-match winning streak.

With his 101st victory at the clay-court major, three-time champion Djokovic set a semi-final meeting with top seed Jannik Sinner, who earlier eased past Alexander Bublik in straight sets. Djokovic's Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Sinner is level at 4-4, but Djokovic has lost three consecutive meetings to the Italian.

Djokovic was forced to retire from his semi-final clash with Zverev at the Australian Open in January due to a muscle tear in his left leg, but he made amends with an assured quarter-final showing in Paris.

The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Djokovic is chasing his first major title since the 2023 US Open. Carlos Alcaraz, defending champion at Roland Garros, and Sinner, between them, have won each of the five that followed.

Zverev was aiming to reach the Roland Garros semi-finals for a fifth consecutive year, though he was unable to produce a response to the barrage of drop shots used by Djokovic, who is into the last four in the French capital for the 13th time.

In an attempt to shake off the fast start from Zverev, who stormed to a 2-0 lead, Djokovic opted for an early racquet change, which appeared to have worked when the Serbian grew into the encounter. He came alive in the eighth game, firing a trademark open-stance backhand pass to carve out his first break point, but Zverev held firm after a gruelling baseline exchange to stay in control.

Competing in heavy conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier, both players struggled to hit through each other, but Zverev was able to use his serve to his advantage during the first set. He dropped just one of 18 points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys Stats, and fittingly closed the opener with his first ace of the match.

After surrendering his first set of the tournament, Djokovic responded with a more varied approach to his game. He countered Zverev’s heavy hitting with his own exquisite touch throughout the second set, highlighted by two drop shots struck in a thrilling set point to level the clash.

Djokovic continued to stand by his game plan throughout the third and fourth sets, aiming to shorten the points and drag Zverev into various cat-and-mouse exchanges at the net. Yet he was also willing to engage in gruelling baseline rallies, and that tactical awareness was the difference maker that helped Djokovic remain composed in the latter stages against a late charge from Zverev.

This was underscored by an absorbing 41-shot rally — in which they ran over 200 metres between them — to save break point in the sixth game of the fourth set. Djokovic ultimately converted his fifth match point to seal victory after three hours, 18 minutes.

“Evidently there was a lot of pressure at the end, Zverev has been one of the best players in the world over the past six years,” said Djokovic. “Matches like this tonight are the reason why I still want to play and compete.”