Zverev, Thiem seal French Open quarters faceoff

PARIS – Second-seeded Alexander Zverev reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal the hard way, beating Karen Khachanov, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, on Sunday for his third straight comeback win in five sets at the tournament.

The gritty victory came with the usual temper flare-ups from Zverev. But the German player also showed, once again, that he knows how to dig deep when it matters. In all three of his five-setters at Roland Garros he has trailed 2-1 in sets.

“I’m young. I might as well stay on court and entertain you guys,’’ the 21-year-old Zverev joked with the crowd. “This definitely paid off, the hours in the gym every day ... Everything comes together slowly and I’m happy to be here.’’

Zverev says he spends up to four hours each day working on weights and fitness.

He might well need to up that schedule considering his quarterfinal opponent is No. 7 Dominic Thiem of Austria, who is one of the fittest players on the men’s circuit and has reached the past two semifinals at Roland Garros.

“I’m expecting another five-set match. I’ll get myself ready,’’ Zverev said, smiling. “I’m very happy about being in the quarterfinals here, going the hard way, going the long distance ... showing everybody that I can play for as long as I need to.’’

Almost 12 hours altogether so far.