Zverev says Nadal plays '30% better' at Roland Garros

Alexander Zverev believes Rafael Nadal plays "30% better" at Roland Garros as he backed either the 13-time winner or defending champion Novak Djokovic to triumph at the French Open. German world number three Zverev, who is seeded to meet Djokovic in the semi-finals, said Nadal seems to have shrugged off the recurrence of a foot injury which saw him limp to an early defeat in Rome last week. "I just watched Rafa practise and it's funny because all of a sudden his forehand is just 20 miles an hour faster.

He moves lighter on his feet," said Zverev. "There is something about this court that makes him play 30% better, just being on this court." World number one Djokovic, bidding for a third Paris title to move level with Nadal on 21 Grand Slams, comes into the tournament with a sixth Italian Open under his belt. The Serb, who turns 35 on Sunday when the French Open starts, is also fired up by missing out on his Australian Open defence in January when he was deported from Melbourne over his refusal to be vaccinated.

"I think Novak right now, as well, he's finding his form again," added Zverev. "He's been playing better and better each week that he's been playing on the clay courts. He's been playing fantastic in Rome.

"Those two guys (Djokovic and Nadal) are still the No. 1 and 2 favourites for me." Zverev, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 2021, is seeded to face new teen sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of a top-heavy draw where Djokovic and Nadal could also clash in the last eight. Alcaraz, 19, and bidding to become just the eighth teenager to win a Grand Slam men's title, has a tour-leading four titles this year.