Zverev finds his rightful place in a major quarterfinal

After escaping multiple five-setters in which he faced down match points, Alexander Zverev, the No. 2 seed at Roland Garros, seems to have turned a corner.

Throughout the tournament, Zverev’s been asked about his struggles at Grand Slams, over and over again. Even Rafael Nadal was sick of it.

The fact is that it is only Zverev's third main-draw appearance at Roland Garros, and until his 6-2, 3-6,4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 win over Damir Dzumhur, he’d never beaten a Top 50 player at a Slam.

In his replies to the media, the world No. 3 has been thoroughly uninterested in indulging this narrative, challenging the idea that he has to contend with more pressure at the Slams and that he needs to turn some kind of magical corner to get over the hump.

“Look, everybody tries to make a bigger story out of it than it is,” he said ahead of his match with Dzumhur. “I have had great success on the ATP Tour. Won three Masters, made two other finals this year. I’m not worried. I know if I’m doing the right things and if I do the right work I’ll win those long matches, and the success will come itself.”

At the time, it was hard not to read a bit of defensiveness in the 21-year-old, but after narrowly escaping defeat in five sets for the second consecutive time, it seems Zverev’s mentality has helped him through these matches more than anything.

Then he turned around and did it all over again on Sunday. Zverev faced a big test in the fourth round in Karen Khachanov. He proved his toughness once again by fighting back from two sets to one down to win in five sets for the third time in a row.

Tuesday against Dominic Thiem will mark Zverev’s first quarterfinal appearance at a Slam, and it's right where he belongs.

"I'm expecting another five-set match, " Zverev said. "I'll get myself ready for that."

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