Alexander Zverev believes he now has the toughest draw in the French Open, but is prepared to face off against the "best in the world".
The German reached the quarter-finals after his fourth-round opponent, Tallon Griekspoor, retired with an abdominal injury midway through the second set on Monday.
Zverev had been leading 6-4 3-0 at the time and will now face Novak Djokovic in the last eight as he continues his bid to win a maiden grand slam title.
Going into the French Open, Zverev held a 74.8% win ratio at grand slams (107-36 record), the best win percentage of any man not to win a major title in the Open Era (minimum 10 matches played).
He lost to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final in January and was beaten in the Roland-Garros showpiece by Carlos Alcaraz in 2024. In the three previous years, he had bowed out in the semi-finals of the French Open.Â
With Sinner a potential opponent should he reach the semi-finals, Zverev acknowledged he now has a difficult test ahead of him.
"For me, Carlos is the favourite. I have said that before," Zverev said.
"Then I would say the next three in line are Jannik, myself, and Novak, right? I still believe that.
"I still believe, on tennis and on experience, Novak is up there with us, no question about that at all. So, yeah, I think from now on, I have the toughest draw in the tournament.
"I'm looking forward to the battles ahead, and I'm looking forward to playing the best in the world."
Zverev has won five of his previous 13 career matches against Djokovic, and faced him in the semi-final in Melbourne earlier this year, too.
The 28-year-old went through in that meeting after Djokovic retired injured, but Zverev is looking forward to adding another chapter to their rivalry.
"We have great history in our rivalry, I would say, but I'm looking forward to the match, and it's always a privilege to be on court with him," added Zverev.
"Of course, playing Novak is always an honour."
