ATP Tour

Zverev halts Jodar’s Roland Garros run with commanding QF display

Alexander Zverev continues to defy the trend of a Roland Garros jam-packed with upsets.

The second-seeded German continued his serene progress through the draw at the clay major on Tuesday with a 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-3 quarter-final victory against #NextGenATP star Rafael Jodar. Zverev, who has dropped just one set across his five matches so far this Roland Garros, rallied from 2-5 to clinch the opening set before accelerating to a two-hour, 17-minute triumph under the Court Philippe-Chatrier roof.

“It was difficult,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “He had perfect rhythm in the first set and I didn’t. My balls were very short and I was very defensive. The conditions [under the roof] were completely different. The string tension was different, the way the ball reacted off the ground was different. The ball was not bouncing as high, so heavy topspin was not really beneficial, and I had to flatten my shots out a little bit more.

“He was playing amazing and outplayed me in the beginning of the first set, but I managed to come back and he played a little bit of a nervous game when he served for it. Then I took my chances well and after that it was a good match for me.”

Standing between Zverev and his fourth championship-match appearance at a major will be 26th seed Jakub Mensik or 28th seed Joao Fonseca, who contest Tuesday’s night-session quarter-final in Paris. Regardless of who he faces next, the seven-time ATP Masters 1000 titlist and two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Zverev will enter the match full of confidence after sweeping aside the in-form Jodar.

If Zverev’s serve fires as it did on Tuesday, the World No. 3 will certainly be tough to stop: He won 71 per cent (51/72) of points behind his first delivery against Jodar, according to Infosys Stats. With two of the pre-tournament favourites, top seed Jannik Sinner and third seed Novak Djokovic, already out of the draw, Zverev has so far performed impressively in what is arguably his best chance yet to lift a major trophy.

The 2024 finalist Zverev was tested early in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with the fast-rising Jodar, who has earned the most tour-level wins on clay this season (19). The 19-year-old Spaniard fended off two break points in the opening game of the match and then deployed his heavy forehand superbly to claim the first break of serve in the sixth game.

Yet from 2-5 down, Zverev settled into his groove and appeared largely in control for the rest of the match. The 29-year-old German won five of the next six games to force a tie-break, which he won after reeling off four consecutive points from 3/3.

Remaining typically rock-solid on serve, Zverev also frequently dictated rallies with aggressive groundstrokes, an approach he has often spoken about as being key to his hopes of becoming a Grand Slam champion for the first time. It certainly brought the German joy from 1-1 in the second set: Zverev reeled off seven straight games to move two sets and a break ahead, and he had little trouble serving out from there for his fifth Roland Garros semi-final appearance in the past six years.

“I want to keep going, of course,” Zverev said. “I want to be in the tournament, and I want to win the matches that I haven’t been [winning]. That’s my goal, that’s my aim. I feel like today was a very tough test against a very good player and I managed and I won. Of course, I’m happy to be in the semi-finals, but only for now. That’s it.”

Most Men’s Singles SF Appearances At Roland Garros (Open Era)

Despite Tuesday’s defeat, Jodar can reflect on another significant breakthrough in his young career. The Spaniard was outside the Top 700 in the PIF ATP Rankings a year ago, but was competing in Paris as the 27th seed after winning his maiden ATP Tour title in Marrakech and reaching the quarter-finals at the Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome. As a result of his last-eight run in Paris, Jodar is currently up six spots to No. 23 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.