De Jong credits mental strength for French Open breakthrough

Jesper de Jong says he has “grown mentally” after bowing out of the French Open in the last 16 against the highest ranking player left in the tournament, Alexander Zverev.

The 26-year-old was only in the draw in Paris as a lucky loser, but beat former champion Stan Wawrinka and the number 13 seed Karen Khachanov before going out to the world number three in straight sets on Sunday.

“I’ve picked up well after a lesser spell,” De Jong said after the match. “It’s no guarantee that I’ll keep moving upwards, but I’ve kept doing my thing and invested in my mental growth, and I’m very proud of that.”

De Jong, who marked his birthday on Sunday by playing in the fourth round of a major tournament for the first time, started strongly against Zverev, breaking the German’s service immediately to take a 3-0 lead in the first set.

Zverev quickly broke back for 3-2, but the Dutchman held his serve and his nerve to take the opening set to a tie-break. He went two mini-breaks ahead only to see his opponent come storming back with a run of seven points to claim the set.

De Jong held his own in the second set, only conceding when Zverev broke him in the final game for 6-4. The third set was a more one-sided affair, as De Jong suffered two early breaks in succumbing to a 6-7, 4-6, 1-6 defeat.

“I didn’t play a particularly good game, he was too strong,” De Jong conceded. “I should have won the first set, but then he stepped up a gear and I was chasing balls.”

De Jong is set to rise from 106th to 81st when the world rankings are updated next week, while the 29-year-old Zverev remains on course to end the week with his first ever Grand Slam title.

World number 1 Jannik Sinner was on the end of a second-round upset against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, while number 2 Carlos Alcaraz was forced to scratch from the tournament with a wrist injury, leaving Zverev as the only top five player in the last 16.