Alexander Zverev’s pursuit of an elusive Grand Slam title remained on track with a comprehensive victory over highly-rated teenager Rafael Jodar putting him into the French Open semi-finals.
Second seed Zverev is the highest-ranked man left in the singles draw after a series of shock exits in Paris and he will face Czech 26th seed Jakub Mensik for a place in Sunday’s final.
Mensik won in straight sets against Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca in Tuesday’s night session.
German Zverev has long been tipped for Grand Slam glory but is yet to get over the line, losing in three finals and seven semi-finals.
He came up short against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 French Open final, despite leading by two sets to one, and has fallen three times in the Paris last four alone.
Tuesday’s meeting with 19-year-old Jodar was billed as a potentially tricky tie, with the Spaniard tipped to be a future star.
But Zverev, 10 years Jodar’s senior, used all his experience to come through 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 6-3.
“I want to keep going and win the matches ahead of me – that is my goal and my aim,” Zverev said.
“Today was a very good test against a very good player. “I am happy to be in the semi-final but for now, that is it.”
Zverev is one of just three top-10 seeds still remaining in the tournament, with fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and 10th seed Flavio Cobolli set to meet in one of Wednesday’s two quarter-finals.
But Zverev is on the opposite side of the bracket and cannot meet either of those until the final.
Zverev had made his way to the quarter-finals in routine fashion, dropping just one set across four matches.
In contrast, Jodar had played two five-set matches and spent almost 13 hours on court – about four hours more than Zverev.
That did not appear to be a problem when the youthful Jodar broke to lead 5-2 in the opening set, but Zverev took advantage of the Spaniard’s nerves as he tried to serve out the opener.
The German levelled the set and then took control of the resulting tie-break before Jodar, who was playing in just his second Grand Slam main draw, began to fade.
Zverev barely let up from the second set onwards, wrapping up victory in emphatic fashion with a crashing forehand.
Mensik holds off comeback king Fonseca
Jakub Mensik outlasted Joao Fonseca in a marathon third set to wrap up his quarter-final victory
