So Zverev was asked whether Djokovic, whose recent woes dropped him to No. 6 in the seedings, might be thought of as a dark horse in Paris. The premise seemed misguided to Zverev, who is a three-time runner-up at major tournaments — including to Alcaraz at Roland-Garros a year ago and to Sinner at Melbourne Park this year.

The most stacked quarter of the French Open draw has delivered as expected, setting the stage for a blockbuster clash between Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic in Wednesday's quarterfinals.Zverev booked his place in the last eight after his fourth-round opponent,