John McEnroe warns Alexander Zverev what might happen if he doesn’t win the French Open
Tennis greats John McEnroe and Mats Wilander have weighed in on Alexander Zverev’s bid to win his maiden Grand Slam title at the 2026 French Open.
World No 3 Zverev has emerged as the favourite to secure the men’s singles title at Roland Garros in the absence of his three biggest rivals.
Carlos Alcaraz, the world No 2 and two-time reigning French Open champion, withdrew before the tournament, while Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic both suffered shock early exits.
Sinner, the world No 1, fell in five sets to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round in Paris after leading 5-1 in the third set. The Italian suffered a physical collapse and did not recover.
Djokovic, the world No 4, also lost from two sets to love up as he was beaten by Brazilian star Joao Fonseca in an epic third round contest.
Zverev is a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, having lost finals at the US Open in 2020, the French Open in 2024, and the Australian Open in 2025.
The 29-year-old German is widely considered to be one of the best players not to claim a major title.
French Open News
Alexander Zverev reacts to Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic’s early exits at Roland Garros
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Speaking to TNT Sports and Eurosport, McEnroe sent a warning to Zverev about his Grand Slam chase.
“I think the main question is how he’s going to handle the pressure of all of a sudden,” said the American.
“You know, first of all, he was the guy that was the best player never to win a major. That was getting in his head, so that was bugging him.
“But now he doesn’t have to deal with Djokovic, Sinner and Alcaraz. So if he doesn’t win it this time, I don’t know whether he’s ever gonna win it. So there’s more pressure there.
“He was up a break in the third set [against Quentin Halys], and maybe you should have won that, Sascha, in three sets. But nonetheless, I think he’s young enough to bounce back. He’s been there and done that, so I don’t believe that’s going to affect him.”
Wilander, who was also speaking to TNT Sports and Eurosport, said: “Is it this one [that Zverev wins]? Well, it better be this one, ’cause if he doesn’t win here… But I do think that he’s good enough.
“Just like Caroline Wozniacki in those days. At some point, she was gonna win one, if you put yourself there, you’re gonna have luck on your side.
“And the truth is that if Zverev had a bit of luck, he might have had a US Open title already, because he was up in that, he was up two sets to one here in the finals against Alcaraz. I mean, once you’re one set away, if you have some luck, you have a chance of winning.
“So I think he’s gonna win one. I don’t know if it’s here. There’s a lot of young guys that are in the draw that are tough to beat, but Sascha is definitely the big favourite.”
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