Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal due to injury has left the French Open without one of the sport’s biggest stars and a big gap in Wednesday’s schedule as far as the men’s singles draw was concerned.
Happy to be in another semi-final which I’m very pleased about — hopefully I can win one! I want to be in the finals. That’s my main focu Alexander Zverev
Just the one match was played as Norway’s Casper Ruud, the seventh seed, had another day of relaxation as he awaited the result of the last quarter-final and the name of the player he will face for a place in the Roland Garros final which he has reached these past two years.
And that player will be Alexander Zverev, the fourth-seeded German, who reached his fourth successive semi-final in Paris when he defeated Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-4 7-6(5) 6-4.
Zverev has only one Grand Slam final appearance to his credit and that was in 2020 when he lost to Austria’s Dominic Thiem at the US Open.
To try and correct that, he will have to maintain the level of performance which he first established by beating the 14-time champion Rafa Nadal over five sets in the opening round of these championships.
Alexander Zverev celebrates his win
(Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Against the Aussie ‘Demon,’ he started well with an early break in the third game, only to then lose his own serve immediately, but a double fault from De Minaur handed Zverev another break for a 4-3 lead which he held for the opening set.
Zverev was the first to break in the second set, but again, the Australian recovered, this time thanks to a double fault from the German.
With the match poised to go either way, little separated the duo as they tried to swing the advantage their way with a series of long exchanges.
De Minaur gained a set point with a brilliant backhand lob but couldn’t convert it to level the match. He even had a better chance in the tiebreak which featured a 39-shot rally, which he then lost from 4-0 up.
In the third, having gained that two-set to love advantage, Zverev remained patient and broke in the sixth game only to lose his own as De Minaur continued to battle for that place in the last four for his second semi-final appearance at a grand slam.
However, Zverev was able to seal his win in the next game to keep his own hopes alive after three hours of play.
Speaking after his win, Zverev said: “I think for me, I have the mindset that you have to work harder than everyone else to be the best player and I think the best players are all doing that.
“I like to work to my absolute limit, and if I do that then playing five sets is not all that difficult. I have been doing that for many years, and I am happy it’s still paying off.
“Happy to be in another semi-final which I’m very pleased about — hopefully I can win one! I want to be in the finals. That’s my main focus.”
Zverev though needs to get past Ruud, the Norwegian who beat him in straight sets last year at this stage. They both hold two wins against each other.
“Great player,” Zverev admitted. “Two finals in a row, third semi-final in a row, that speaks for itself. He’s one of the best players on this surface, for sure. I think I have to play my best tennis to have a chance.”
The semi-finals will be played on Friday, and with respect to Zverev and Ruud, the main focus will be on the blockbuster meeting between the Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner and the Wimbledon champion, Carlos Alcaraz, which is expected to be scheduled for the evening on Philippe Chatrier.
