French Open: Alexander Zverev ‘defined by his resilience’ after making semis a year on from injury – Mats Wilander

Alexander Zverev is going to be “defined by his resilience” after making the French Open semi-finals a year on from his horror injury, says Mats Wilander.

Zverev was locked in a fascinating, marathon duel with Rafael Nadal last year at Roland-Garros before going over on his ankle, and left Court Philippe-Chatrier in a wheelchair.

Speaking in Eurosport’s The Cube, Wilander said: “He [Zverev] is going to be defined by his resilience and comeback trail that he’s on.

“The whole world heard and saw that [the injury]. It’s very well known that he’s been struggling with his tennis a little, and now he’s back.

“The way he plays is the way he applied himself for the last six months of his comeback: grinding it out, great attitude, runs, plays and hits hard.

“One box [has been] ticked [with the win over Etcheverry]. The next question, unfortunately for him, is going to be is he good enough to get to the final, and then does he have any resistance against Novak [Djokovic] or Carlos [Alcaraz, in a potential final]?

“He’s back to where he should be and where he’s been; he should look to go further than he’s ever been.”

Tim Henman, also in The Cube, picked up on Zverev – in his post-match interview – comparing Etcheverry to fellow Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro.

“It was interesting to hear Zverev compare Etcheverry to Del Potro,” Henman said. “He’s hitting incredibly hard from the back of the court.

“Etcheverry getting that forehand into play, and then attacking down the line, it was an impressive transition from being dictated to [in the first set], to turning the tables in the second set.

“That’s [risky], and it paid off in the second, but he couldn’t quite keep it going in the third.”

On the subject of Argentinian tennis seeing a revival, Wilander added: “It’s great for Argentinian tennis, now they have [Francisco] Cerundolo and Etcheverry.

“They’ve got guys coming up, giving [Etcheverry] confidence that he’s not out there alone fighting this war for a big tennis nation like Argentina, who need to have a couple of guys in the quarter-finals of the French Open.

“They always have in the past.”

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On June 10 and 11 strap yourself in for a live sport rollercoaster ride. With the finals of Roland-Garros, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Speedway Grand Prix, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, the Criterium du Dauphine, MotoGP and the Champions League final, it’s the Weekend of Champions live on Eurosport, discovery+ and BT Sport.