ATP Tour

Zverev downs Mensik in Roland Garros SF, earns 4th shot at major glory

Alexander Zverev moved to within one win of achieving a long-held dream once again on Friday at Roland Garros, where he secured his return to the championship match.

The second-seeded German expertly navigated a mid-match surge from 20-year-old Jakub Mensik to earn a convincing 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 semi-final victory at the clay-court major. Through to his fourth major final — and second at Roland Garros — Zverev has earned another opportunity to claim his first Grand Slam title when he returns to Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday.

“He started playing amazingly in the third set,” Zverev said of Mensik. “He really stepped up to another level. But this is a Grand Slam, it’s best-of-five set matches. Opponents are going to play better. You have to deal with it… I did and I hope to play another great match on Sunday.”

Following the early exits of fellow title contenders Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, the draw opened up considerably, but Zverev continued to power through his section of it. The 29-year-old has dropped just two sets across his six wins en route to becoming the fifth active man to reach multiple championship matches at Roland Garros.

Zverev came within one set of the title in Paris in 2024 and has also finished runner-up at the US Open in 2020 and the Australian Open last year. In his latest bid on Sunday, World No. 3 Zverev will face 10th seed Flavio Cobolli or Matteo Arnaldi.

With his three-hour, one-minute victory over Mensik, Zverev tied Stan Wawrinka’s tally of four major finals for the fifth-most among active players.

Most Men's Major Finals (active players)

Mensik was aiming to become the youngest Roland Garros finalist since Rafael Nadal in 2006, but the Czech was unable to implement his game and carve out his second Top-3 win of the year after defeating then-World No. 2 Sinner in February. Mensik leaves Paris up 11 spots to No. 16 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

“It’s amazing the way he played these past two weeks,” Zverev added. “I knew it was going to be the toughest challenge I had so far. I managed. I won. So I’m happy.”

After a sluggish start, the semi-final burst into life in the eighth game when Mensik stretched wide to carve a sliding backhand winner past Zverev and earn the first break points of the match. The second seed responded impressively, however, and saved all three chances in that game before striking at 5-5 to break and subsequently serve out the opener.

Mensik’s exceptional net play and fearless aggression were central to his quarter-final victory over Joao Fonseca, but he was unable to replicate that formula against Zverev. The German repeatedly drew the Czech into extended baseline exchanges, proving the steadier and more patient player in the biggest moments.

When Mensik looked to move forward more frequently in the second set, Zverev had the answers. The German passed him repeatedly at the net and secured a two-set lead to tighten his grip on the contest, although Mensik later found more success with drop shots and variation after an off-court medical timeout early in the third set, earning that set to spark hopes of a comeback.

Those hopes were short lived, however. Zverev quickly regrouped in the fourth set, racing into a commanding 3-0 lead that proved beyond recovery. Having also won their only previous meeting in Madrid five weeks ago, the German now holds a 2-0 advantage in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Mensik.