Carlos Alcaraz ‘gets what he wants’ with scheduling, says Alexander Zverev ahead of quarter-final clash
World number three Alexander Zverev has said that his quarter-final opponent Carlos Alcaraz “gets what he wants” and is favoured by the scheduling of Roland Garros.
For the first time ever at this years event, night games have been scheduled and played in front of crowds at Roland Garros – following the route of both the US and Australian Open.
However the scheduling of the matches has led to some players being upset with their timings of matches and what courts they have played on.
Now, Alexander Zverev has questioned why world number six has been consistently offered the top billing.
The Murcia born 19-year-old has played three out of his four matches on Court Phillipe Chatrier at this year’s Roland Garros, with Zverev playing just one of his four matches on the main stage.
The 13-time champion Rafael Nadal has also played on Phillipe Chatrier three times, with Novak Djokovic on twice.
Whilst Zverev admitted that he understood why the two Grand Slam greats Djokovic and Nadal have been consistently scheduled to play on the main stage, the German questioned as to why Alcaraz has frequently played on Chatrier.
Speaking to Eurosport Germany, Alexander Zverev said, “We [Carlos Alcaraz and myself] have Novak and Rafael on our side of the tournament. And it is normal, if they are on your side of the tournament they get what they want, and that’s okay.
“One of them won 20 grand slams, the other 21. And that is proper. That is totally fine for me.
But it is very interesting to see that Alcaraz gets what he wants. We all have played a couple of times on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Myself three times, Novak twice, even Rafa. But Alcaraz plays every match on Philippe Chatrier.
“I get that he is the exciting new mega talent in tennis. I am still the No. 3 in the world, but this is nothing about me.
“We have Rafa and Novak on our side of the tournament and they need to make room, so that somebody else can play on the main court that hasn’t already multiple times. This is extremely interesting for me.”
The two are set to face off in their quarter-final clash on Tuesday in the daytime – which is to be a repeat of the Madrid Masters final where Carlos Alcaraz dismantled the German in straight sets to claim his first Masters title on clay.
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