Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP Roland Garros match.
Alexander Zverev continues his push through the Roland Garros draw, though a second-round wobble showed that even top seeds can be tested. For Flavio Cobolli, this third-round clash is both a career milestone and his toughest challenge in recent weeks — a true test against an elite opponent on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
Alexander Zverev
Zverev’s clay-court season in 2025 has been solid, though not without blemishes — 16 wins from 22 matches, but dropping at least a set in nine of them. At Roland Garros, the pattern held: after a smooth first round, he needed four sets to get past Jesper de Jong (No. 88), losing the first before reasserting control. The German hit 9 aces and broke serve 7 times, showing resilience if not perfection. Still, Zverev is a model of consistency at this stage of Slams — he has won 18 of his last 19 third-round matches.
Flavio Cobolli
The Italian enters with momentum, having claimed a title in Hamburg and backing it up with two confident wins in Paris — including an impressive performance against Matteo Arnaldi. That said, Arnaldi gifted him the match with 63 unforced errors and just 47% first-serve accuracy. Cobolli has historically struggled against top-tier opposition: he’s lost 5 of his last 6 matches against top-20 players at Grand Slams, albeit often managing to take a set. The jump in class here is significant, and the physical demands of a long best-of-five battle could tilt heavily in Zverev’s favour.
Alexander Zverev vs Flavio Cobolli Prediction
Zverev’s mix of experience, physicality, and baseline control should be too much for Cobolli over the long haul. However, the Italian has shown enough spark to suggest he can steal a set — but not the match.
