‘Beating Rafa at French Open the toughest task in tennis’ – Henman on Rafael Nadal v Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev will face the “toughest task in tennis” when he lines up across from Rafael Nadal in the French Open semi-finals, according to Eurosport’s Tim Henman.

That’s not to say that Henman doesn’t think Zverev has the weapons to do so, but he’s clear he feels the German will need to reach a higher, more consistent level than he has perhaps ever shown before.

Speaking on Eurosport ahead of the last-four tie, ex-world No. 4 Henman said: “I think first and foremost it’s his [Zverev’s] mindset.

“Against Alcaraz, there was so much talk about him during the clay court season – rightly so – and him [Alcaraz] going on to win Roland-Garros, that I think Zverev was slightly offended by that, he was saying ‘hang on, don’t forget about me. I’ve won plenty of big titles and I’ve been in the final of a Slam’.

“He went out there and played brilliantly, so I think the aggressive mindset is important and he’s got to have that belief against Rafa.

“It’s the toughest task in tennis to beat Rafa at Roland-Garros in a five-setter, but I think with his big game, if he can serve at a high percentage and because of his height, he is able to get on top of the ball [it’s possible].

“But let’s be honest, he’s got to play the match of his life. It’s not as if Rafa’s struggling for confidence either with the wins he’s had over his whole career here, but [also] the way he came back against [Felix] Auger-Aliassime, and he played over four hours against [Novak] Djokovic.

“It’s just an awesome match-up, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Rafa’s going to be the favourite.”

Fellow Eurosport pundit Alex Corretja also reckoned that Zverev’s win over Alcaraz could give him the confidence he needs to earn what would be one of the most seismic victories ever seen in the game.

Corretja said: “It should be huge [the confidence gained from beating Alcaraz] because he played very well and he beat someone who only lost one match across the whole clay-court season and it was the first time he beat a top-10 player at a Slam, so it should give him a feeling that he can do it again.

“Also against Rafa, in a way, tactically, Sascha knows exactly how he should play.

“Even if he goes onto court knowing it will be very difficult he should think he can do it. The mindset before the semi-finals is ‘why can’t I beat Rafa on clay? Why can’t I do it?’ So I think Sascha will be very dangerous.”

– – –