Zverev Aims for First Slam Title as He Faces Ruud in French Open Semis

With a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 victory against Australian 11th seed Alex de Minaur on Wednesday, Alexander Zverev progressed to his fourth consecutive French Open semi-final. Casper Ruud, the fourth seed, was given a walkover when Novak Djokovic's injury forced his retirement, therefore Zverev will take against the Norwegian in the Sunday final. After winning the Rome championship last month, Germany's Zverev is now on an 11-match winning run; nevertheless, he has never advanced to the Roland Garros final.

"I'm glad to have advanced to another semifinal. After defeating Rafael Nadal, the 14-time winner, in the opening round of this year's competition, Zverev stated, "Hopefully I can win one."

In the 2023 French Open semifinals, Ruud defeated Zverev in straight sets.

In about three hours, Zverev defeated De Minaur, having needed five sets in each of his previous two matches.

After a 39-shot comeback to force a tie-break, he saved a set point on his serve at 5-6 in the second set. He then won one of his own, which he secured at the first opportunity.

"Everybody in the press keeps asking me what I do for recovery and the answer is very simple -- you don't recover after matches, you recover in the off-season," stated Zverev.
"I believe that the top players are those who put forth the most effort. I enjoy working as hard as I can. Playing five sets becomes easier all of a sudden if I do it."

Zverev's chances of winning his 2022 match against Rafael Nadal were shattered by a severe ankle injury that forced him to withdraw.

"After two weeks, I'm really proud of the work I've done. Playing in just his second major quarterfinal, De Minaur commented, "Even today, I think I put up a hell of a fight in challenging conditions against a quality opponent."

In the second set, De Minaur's chances of being the first Australian man to qualify for the last four in Paris since Pat Rafter in 1997 evaporated as he lamented giving up a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak.