De Jong shocks French Open, defeating Khachanov; To take on Zverev in quarterfinal

Dutch tennis player Jesper de Jong defeated 13th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia in a more than four-hour, five-set match at the French Open in Paris on Friday. De Jong, who originally failed to qualify for the tournament, advanced to the last 16, where he will face world No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany.

De Jong said the result marked the biggest win of his career. “If I have to go through everything, we’ll be here for a while,” he said at his press conference. “This is an incredible performance from me. I am so proud of how I stayed mentally present, because that was the key to the victory.”

He said he felt prepared for the physical demands from the start of the day. “I already had the feeling in the morning that I was ready for a physical fight. I felt very good. You could see on the court that I was ready,” he told NOS.

The Dutchman, born in Haarlem, said he had never previously reached the third round of a Grand Slam and quickly identified the Khachanov win as the biggest of his career. “I think so,” he said when asked.

He will now meet Zverev, the German player who ranks third in the world, in the last 16 on Sunday, coinciding with his 26th birthday. “It is very emotional. Everyone is really involved. I have given myself a nice birthday present on Sunday,” he said.

Zverev and De Jong faced off almost exactly a year ago in the second round of the French Open. Zverev won easily, dominantly taking three of four sets.

De Jong is playing his seventh match in 14 days amid intense conditions in Paris, where temperatures have exceeded 30 degrees Celsius at times during the tournament.

Despite the workload, he said his physical condition remains solid. “I told my coach (Thiemo de Bakker) that I could still play another set, so that is a good sign. It is now important to recover, take my vitamins, and not get sick.”

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