Second seed Alexander Zverev closed in on his first Grand Slam title by defeating Jakub Mensik 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the French Open semifinals on Friday (June 11). The win sends the German into the Roland Garros final for the second time.
Zverev's opponent on Sunday will be either 10th seed Flavio Cobolli or fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi, currently ranked 104th in the world. Zverev is considered the favorite to win the championship.
Zverev had previously lost three Grand Slam finals, most recently to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros two years ago. "This is a Grand Slam, playing best-of-five sets, anything can happen and the opponent will play better. I kept control," Zverev said after the match. "I hope to have a great match on Sunday."
The semifinal was Zverev's 11th Grand Slam semifinal appearance, and his experience proved decisive against Mensik, a 20-year-old Czech making his first semifinal. Mensik gradually tired after playing two five-set matches earlier in Paris.
Zverev has lost only two sets in six matches at the tournament, showing steady form after top rivals such as Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic were eliminated early. "My head is absolutely empty," Zverev joked during the on-court interview. "We are athletes, very few of us have anything in the head. Sometimes it's easier to be stupid and not overthink."
The first set was tense, with Zverev breaking in the 11th game after saving three break points to prevent Mensik from leading 5-3. In the second set, Zverev broke twice and lost only four points on serve, winning 6-2 quickly.
In the third set, Mensik called for a medical timeout for a neck problem as early as the third game, but unexpectedly found form with effective drop shots to take the set 6-3 – only the second set Zverev lost in the tournament.
However, Mensik could not sustain the momentum. In the fourth set, two consecutive unforced errors from Mensik handed Zverev a break for a 2-0 lead. The German, despite being booed by the crowd over line-call disputes and receiving a time violation warning, kept his composure and sealed the win when Mensik missed a backhand on the first match point.
Zverev is now aiming to end a 14-month title drought, dating back to the clay-court event in Munich last April. The final will be played on Court Philippe Chatrier.
