BIG NAMES GONE:
Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions
Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals.
Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open.
“I want to win the matches that are ahead of me, that is my goal, that is my aim,” said Zverev, who has only dropped one set en route to the last four.
Photo: AFP
It is the fifth time in six years he has made it to this stage in Paris.
“I’m happy to be in the semi-finals, for now,” he added.
For Jodar, the grind of back-to-back five-setters appeared to take its toll as he struggled to cope after blowing a 5-2 lead in the opening set under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The 19-year-old Jodar was featuring at just his second major. He was ranked 707th in the world this time last year.
Zverev will next play Czech youngster Mensik after the 20-year-old upstaged Brazilian sensation Fonseca in the night match. Mensik beat the 19-year-old Fonseca 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) to extend his best run at a Grand Slam.
“It was one of my best performances so far,” said Mensik, who needed seven match points to see off the stubborn Fonseca. “I knew it was going to be a tough one.”
It was the youngest Roland Garros men’s quarter-final since a 20-year-old Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in 2006. Djokovic was 19 at the time.
Fonseca offered a glimpse of his vast potential with wins over Djokovic and Casper Ruud, but ran out of steam against an opponent who could rival him for the game’s biggest prizes in years to come.
“Coming from a little injury and not having any expectation for this tournament and doing a great run… It’s a positive week,” said Fonseca, who had been bothered by a wrist issue before Roland Garros.
“This tournament gives me more conviction and more confidence to keep going,” he added.
Marta Kostyuk and Mirra Andreeva are to meet today for a place in the women’s final.
The in-form Kostyuk held her nerve to withstand a comeback from compatriot Elina Svitolina in the first all-Ukrainian women’s quarter-final at a Grand Slam in the Open era, prevailing 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
The 23-year-old Kostyuk extended her unbeaten run on clay this season to 17 matches to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final.
“I’m very happy I found a way. It was very difficult in the first two sets,” said Kostyuk, who dedicated her victory to Ukrainians.
The country was hit by hundreds of Russian drones and dozens of missiles early Tuesday, killing at least 23 people.
“We had another difficult night in Ukraine, especially in Kyiv where so many people died, so I want to give this match to Ukraine,” Kostyuk said.
Svitolina, 31, fell at the quarter-final stage at Roland Garros for the sixth time. It is the only major where she has not reached the last four.
Kostyuk has been an outspoken supporter of Ukraine during the ongoing war with Russia. Her next opponent is Russian teenager Andreeva, whom she beat in the Madrid Open final last month.
“I usually never care who is on the other side of the net. I’m there to play tennis and do my job, and that’s it,” Kostyuk said.
Andreeva breezed into her second French Open semi-final with a 6-0, 6-3 rout of Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, who plans to retire at the end of the season.
The eighth seed needed less than an hour to dispatch the 36-year-old Cirstea, appearing in the last eight in Paris for the first time since 2009.
“I’m super happy that I’m going to be playing in semis again,” Andreeva said. “I felt like it was one of my best matches so far this tournament.”
Andreeva atoned for last year’s disappointment of her quarter-final loss to French outsider Lois Boisson as rain and strong winds arrived in Paris after last week’s heatwave.
“I was just trying to have flashbacks only about the weather and only about the court with closed roof, not about how I played. I’m happy that I could turn it around,” she said.
