"Lot of people count Novak Djokovic out… but he's still beating the best" - Alexander Zverev gets honest about Serb being 'underrated' at French Open

Alexander Zverev gave his honest take on Novak Djokovic being underrated at the 2025 French Open after their semifinal showdown. The 38-year-old turned around a one-set deficit in dominant fashion to reach his illustrious career's 51st Grand Slam semifinal.

Zverev and Djokovic faced each other for the second time at the Grand Slam level this year. While the German had won their opening bout at the Australian Open after the Serb retired mid-match, Djokovic bounced back at the French Open in style by decimating the former finalist 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in a three-hour and 17-minute showdown.

Though the Serb hasn't been at his best this year, he has still displayed his highest level of tennis at Grand Slams this year. At the Australian Open, he clinched a win over Carlos Alcaraz in a four-set masterclass after going a set down, and he has now done the same to Zverev.

Speaking on Djokovic's level at the age of 38, Alexander Zverev felt that the Serb was being underrated by the tennis fraternity and was being counted out too early.

“Yeah I think at the moment he’s a bit underrated to be honest. Funny that you say that. I think a lot of people count him out already. This year he’s had a win over Alcaraz at the Australian Open and a win over me at the French Open.

He also highlighted how the 24-time Major champion's results in 2025 were phenomenal, even if his age wasn't taken into consideration.

"Forget the age, I think for any player those are pretty good results. Of course I’d have to ask him how he feels physically and how he will recover… if he’ll be 100% for the next match, because I do think it was quite a physical match for both of us. But he’s still beating the best of the best. I think everyone needs to respect that,” Alexander Zverev added.

Zverev also said that he wasn't surprised to see Djokovic making things difficult for him.

“What do you want me to say? Novak Djokovic has won 24 of these things, yes, I expected him to be able to play like this" - Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic- Source: Getty

When asked if he was surprised to see Novak Djokovic play at his best for three hours and 17 minutes, Alexander Zverev reminded the tennis fraternity about the unprecedented success the Serb has enjoyed in Majors.

“What do you want me to say? He's won 24 of these things. Yes. I expected him to be able to play like this. I have not seen him play like this this year yet. I think it was a very, very high level from him. It was at some point difficult for me," Alexander Zverev said.

He admitted that the 38-year-old made the match difficult for him and also stated how the weather affected his game as well. However, the German ended by giving full credit to the Serb for his scintillating performance.

"In the first set when the sun wasn’t completely down, there was still some heat on the court. I felt like I could still hit some winners and do some damage with my serve. Then later on when it got really really cold I couldn’t really do much. I at some point felt like I didn’t know how to win a point from the baseline against him. I thought he was having solutions to a lot of things I was doing. Credit to him. He played better than me today.”

Up next, Novak Djokovic will take on Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the 2025 French Open.