For at least a few fleeting moments, it appeared that something significant might be unfolding on Tuesday beneath the Court Philippe-Chatrier roof. Rafael Jódar had started his first grand slam quarter-final desperate to make his mark and he spent the first 40 minutes eviscerating the ball off both sides, lasering groundstrokes that seemingly struck every line. He built a 5-2 lead over Alexander Zverev, a game away from starting with a statement in the biggest match of his career.
Normalcy resumed quickly. Jódar’s attempts to serve out the set ended in a break to love for the second seed, who quickly took control and refused to relinquish his position until the end of the match.
Zverev offered Jódar minimal breathing room for the rest of the encounter, serving extremely well and striking his forehand freely. In the process, the German took another step towards winning an elusive first grand slam title as he returned to the semi-finals of the French Open with a 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-3 win.
The past 10 days in Paris have been unlike any in the recent history of men’s tennis, with so many of the top players suffering early upsets. As the dust has begun to settle on the early defeats for Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, the central question surrounding the men’s draw in the final rounds is simple: can anyone beat Zverev?
After being repeatedly blocked by Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic and others, the door is clearly wide open. Beyond him, the world No 6, Félix Auger-Aliassime, is the only remaining top-10 player. There are still some shooters left in the draw, quality players with big enough weapons to take him out, but while Zverev has navigated his section with few problems, reaching the semi-finals without facing a player ranked inside the top 25, the rest of the field has been in a frantic rush to take advantage of an opportunity that may never come again.
So many players have already worn themselves out in multiple five-set matches as they have battled to get through.
Jódar was a perfect example of this. Seeded 27th, he has been one of the revelations of the clay-court season. He entered the match leading the ATP with clay-court wins this year, compiling a record of 19 wins and three defeats, with quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome before his run at Roland Garros. But he navigated consecutive five-set matches for the first time in his career to reach the quarter-finals. After squandering his opportunity in the opening set, he quickly ran out of steam.
The top half of the draw, meanwhile, now more closely resembles a wrestling match than anything like tennis. So many players in the top section have been embroiled in marathon matches, not least Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, whose 17 hours and 54 minutes on court to reach the last eight is an open era record by, astoundingly, over two hours.
A grand slam title would be quite a logical progression for Zverev’s career. The 29-year-old is one of the most successful players to never win one, a 24-time ATP title winner who has won the end-of-year finals twice and an Olympic gold medal, plus seven Masters 1000 titles.
This is his 11th grand slam semi-final and he has advanced to the final on three occasions in the previous 10. However, his performances in some of those finals exposed his lack of courage and toughness in the most important moments against the best players in the world.
One of the most notable aspects of Zverev’s pursuit of his elusive major title, though, is the dread it generates for some tennis fans. Zverev has been accused of domestic violence by two of his former partners, Olga Sharypova and Brenda Patea, which he has repeatedly denied.
The conflict between Patea and Zverev, who share a daughter, ended up in a Berlin courtroom, with the court proceedings starting at the beginning of the French Open in 2024. By the end of the tournament, the two parties agreed to settle out of court. Zverev eventually reached the final in Paris, losing to Alcaraz.
Some fans who feel strongly about domestic violence are unsettled by the prospect of him winning a major title, and his defeats at grand slam tournaments are often received with relief.
This was illustrated in the trophy ceremony immediately after Zverev’s loss to Sinner in last year’s Australian Open final, when his speech was interrupted three times by audience members shouting: “Australia believes Olga and Brenda.”
The next challenge for Zverev will be the extremely talented 20-year-old 26th seed, Jakub Mensik, who played an excellent match to defeat the 19-year-old João Fonseca, the 28th seed, winning 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (3) to advance to his first grand slam semi-final.
