Zverev faces his first real test

Alexander Zverev is certainly still a long way from his absolute top form. Nevertheless, last year’s finalist has reached the third round of the French Open for the eighth time in a row with relative ease. However, he now faces a strong and up-and-coming Italian who is currently enjoying the best phase of his career and particularly loves the clay courts of this world. According to the betting providers, the odds are nevertheless stacked against Zverev, who is ranked third in the world, against Cobolli.

However, the opponent in the third match of the second Grand Slam of the year should not be underestimated. The 23-year-old Florentine recently won the ATP tournament in Hamburg, where Zverev was sensationally knocked out in the second round. With the confidence gained from seven wins in a row, the versatile Cobolli wants to upset the towering favorite and, at best, force him into an intense match. The longer the match lasts, the higher the probability that the prediction of a surprise coup will come true in the duel between Zverev and Cobolli.

Alexander Zverev – Statistics & current form

Alexander Zverev is competing in a Grand Slam tournament for the 32nd time. However, the Hamburg native is still waiting for his big break in the form of a title win. Last year, the current world number three came very close in Paris. Despite leading 2-1 in sets, the German lost the final to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets. The 28-year-old also reached the final of the 2025 Australian Open, but lost in straight sets to Jannik Sinner. The current clay court season, however, is not going according to plan so far.

Although his record of 16 wins and six losses is impressive, the two-time ATP world champion has only really impressed in his tournament victory in Munich. At the Masters tournaments in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome, he did not make it past the quarterfinals. At his home tournament in Hamburg last week, Sophia Thomalla’s partner was even eliminated in the second round. If he wants to make a deep run at Roland Garros in 2025, he will definitely need to perform better than he did in his immediate preparation on the red clay.

Will Zverev drop at least one set again?

In this regard, the first two matches were of fundamental importance. Against American Learner Tien and Dutch outsider Jesper de Jong, Zverev was able to find his rhythm at competition level without being challenged 100%. Nevertheless, it was clear in both the first and second rounds that “Sascha” is not playing his best tennis at the moment and is still experiencing occasional lapses in concentration. In his 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Tien, Zverev had the right answers late in the set, and against de Jong, the Hamburg native improved significantly after losing the first set.

Nevertheless, the room for improvement in Paris, combined with the inconsistent preparation, during which the three-time Grand Slam finalist made many simple mistakes and lacked the necessary consistency, are, in my opinion, compelling arguments for checking the odds on Saturday between Zverev and Cobolli that the best German tennis player will not win in straight sets. The Bet-at-Home app is offering solid odds of 1.63 for at least four sets in the match. Those who ultimately believe in a conceivably close 3-2 victory for the French Open co-favorite, seeded third, can even pocket 5.50 at the same bookmaker and still benefit from the attractive Bet-at-Home new customer bonus.

Flavio Cobolli – Statistics & current form

Flavio Cobolli has catapulted himself into the world elite over the past two years. The 23-year-old has been particularly impressive in recent weeks and is currently ranked higher than ever before in the world rankings. Thanks to his tournament victory in Hamburg last week, the man from Florence has already jumped to 26th place. At Rothenbaum, Cobolli defeated renowned professionals such as Rublev, Bautista-Agut, Etcheverry, and Davidovich-Fokina. In his five victories, the Italian only dropped two sets and thus deservedly secured the second ATP tournament victory of his career. He won his first title at the tournament in Bucharest at the beginning of April – also on clay!

Cobolli is brimming with confidence

Overall, it must be said that the right-hander is in outstanding form, having won his last seven singles matches and boasting 15 victories in 20 matches in the current clay court season. Against this backdrop, it is not really surprising that the 23-year-old has reached the third round of a Grand Slam for only the third time in his career. Should the underdog’s surprise coup come true this weekend between Zverev and Cobolli, the Florentine would advance to the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

Just how dangerous the 1.83-meter-tall world number 26 could be for the German tennis hopeful is underlined by the fact that Cobolli also dropped only one set in his first two matches at Roland Garros and won the remaining six sets all by at least three games (at least 6-3). The Italian lost only six games against former Grand Slam winner Marin Cilic.

I therefore definitely believe that the Hamburg winner, who is in great form, can win a set. If the underdog even wins the first set, betting odds of up to 3.05 for a corresponding bet are being offered in the Interwetten app ahead of the Zverev vs. Cobolli match. Incidentally, this is one of the best sports betting apps on the market.

Alexander Zverev – Flavio Cobolli Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

This is the first time the two pros have faced each other on the ATP Tour. Although there are currently only 23 places between Zverev and Cobolli in the world rankings, the German number 1 has earned almost $45 million more in prize money in his career. Three Grand Slam final appearances also meet the third third-round match at a Grand Slam tournament. On paper, therefore, sporting worlds collide.

Alexander Zverev – Flavio Cobolli Tip

Throughout his career, Alexander Zverev has been a player who has struggled to reach his best form in the early rounds of Grand Slam tournaments, prone to periods of weakness and only improving as the matches progress. After two decent performances in the first two rounds, the 28-year-old from Hamburg now faces a very uncomfortable opponent. Flavio Cobolli won the tournament in Hamburg last week, has won 15 of 20 matches on clay this season and is currently ranked higher than ever before – 26th in the world!

Basically, I have no doubt that last year’s finalist will make it to the round of 16, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that the flexible Cobolli, who makes few mistakes and, like “Sascha,” has only dropped one set so far in the tournament, will give the best German tennis player a run for his money. I am therefore leaning towards a games handicap (+6.5) in favor of the younger Italian between Zverev and Cobolli. VBET is offering maximum odds of 1.67 for this, which I am betting six units on.