Alexander Zverev defeated one of tennis’ promising young hotshots in straight sets in the French Open quarterfinals. To return to the final in Paris, he’ll have to oust another.
The second seed from Germany beat Spanish 27th seed Rafael Jodar 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-3 on Tuesday at Roland Garros, while Czech 26th seed Jakub Mensik knocked out No. 28 seed Joao Fonseca of Brazil 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (3). Zverev and Mensik will battle Friday for a spot in the French Open final.
Jodar, 19, burst onto the global scene during clay-court season. He won an ATP 250 title in Morocco before reaching the semifinals in Barcelona and the quarterfinals in consecutive ATP 1000 events in Madrid and Rome.
But the quarterfinals were also where Jodar’s second-ever Grand Slam would end, as Zverev fired seven aces without a double fault and had a 35-22 edge in winners in the two-hour, 25-minute affair under the roof.
“It was difficult,” Zverev said post-match. “He had perfect rhythm in the first set and I didn’t. My balls were very short and I was very defensive. The conditions (under the roof) were completely different. The string tension was different, the way the ball reacted off the ground was different. The ball was not bouncing as high, so heavy topspin was not really beneficial, and I had to flatten my shots out a little bit more.
“He was playing amazing and outplayed me in the beginning of the first set, but I managed to come back and he played a little bit of a nervous game when he served for it. Then I took my chances well and after that it was a good match for me.”
Considered the best male player yet to win a Grand Slam, the 29-year-old Zverev has become the heavy favorite in Paris after Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic were shown early exits.
Zverev lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final in 2024, and he’s yet to break through in three opportunities in Grand Slam finals. For now, he can say he’s headed to his second semifinal in as many Grand Slams this year.
“I want to keep going, of course,” Zverev said. “I want to be in the tournament, and I want to win the matches that I haven’t been (winning). That’s my goal, that’s my aim. I feel like today was a very tough test against a very good player and I managed and I won. Of course, I’m happy to be in the semi-finals, but only for now.”
The other quarterfinal Tuesday pitted rising stars who are both ranked inside the top 30 in the world. Mensik, 20, had to beat eighth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia and 11th seed Andrey Rublev of Russia in the last two rounds, while 19-year-old Fonseca knocked out Djokovic and two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud of Norway.
Fonseca extended his dream run the best he could by saving 16 of 21 break points, including six match points in the 12th game of the third set on his way to forcing a tiebreaker.
But Mensik was the stronger player overall, as evidenced by his quick lead in that tiebreaker and his 49-39 edge in winners. He had 11 aces and won a stellar 83.1% of his first-service points (55 of 66).
“The last game and the tiebreak were (some) of my best performances so far,” Mensik said. “It was really tough to stay focused until the end. A couple of match points … I’m happy I managed to come back in the tiebreak and still move my game a little forward.”
The other two quarterfinal matches in the men’s singles draw will take place Wednesday. No. 4 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada will face No. 10 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy, and Matteo Berrettini will meet Matteo Arnaldi in a battle of unseeded Italians.
–Field Level Media
