French Open: Alexander Zverev reaches quarter-finals, Rafael Jodar continues dream run

Second seed Alexander Zverev cruised past lucky loser Jesper De Jong 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-1 on Sunday to book his spot in the French Open quarter-finals and edge closer to an elusive maiden Grand Slam title.

The French Open is widely seen as the 29-year-old’s best chance to finally lift a major trophy, with several leading contenders already out of the tournament, including world number one Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

De Jong, ranked 106th in the world, had battled through qualifying before entering the main draw as a lucky loser and was playing the biggest match of his career on his 26th birthday.

The Dutchman matched Zverev stride for stride early on, with the pair exchanging breaks in a closely fought opening set. But the German raised his level in the tiebreak, taking control of the contest with a series of clean baseline winners.

Zverev continued to dictate from the back of the court in the second set, pinning De Jong behind the baseline and forcing errors. At 5-4, he earned two set points on the Dutchman’s serve and needed only one when De Jong pushed a volley into the net.

The world number three then raced into a 3-0 lead in the third set and never looked back. He wrapped up the match when De Jong sent a backhand into the net, reaching the French Open quarter-finals for the eighth time in his career. Awaiting him in the last eight is one of the breakout stars of the tournament.

RAFAEL JORDAR’s IMPRESSIVE RUN

Teenage sensation Rafael Jodar produced another remarkable comeback at Roland Garros, rallying from two sets down to defeat fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 and book a quarter-final spot on his French Open debut.

The 19-year-old clay-court specialist, who turned professional only late last year, is increasingly being viewed as a serious contender following the surprise exits of several top seeds. Jodar has now won back-to-back five-set matches after edging past Alex Michelsen in the previous round.

The all-Spanish battle initially appeared to be heading firmly in Carreno Busta’s favour.

Jodar broke early to move 4-2 ahead in the opening set, but the veteran stayed patient and capitalised on a dip in the teenager’s level, reeling off four straight games to take the lead.

Carreno Busta carried that momentum into the second set, earning two more breaks to surge 4-0 ahead. Jodar briefly threatened a comeback by winning three successive games, but the 34-year-old closed out the set with a perfectly executed serve-and-volley winner on his second set point.

With his tournament hanging by a thread, Jodar finally found his rhythm. The teenager broke early in the third set and began to play with greater aggression, taking control of rallies with his forehand and forcing Carreno Busta onto the defensive. He swept through the set to reduce the deficit and carried the momentum into the fourth.

Carreno Busta took a medical timeout for treatment on his right shoulder, and his level dipped noticeably afterwards. Unforced errors crept into his game as Jodar secured two breaks of serve to force a deciding set.

The momentum was now entirely with the teenager, who continued to dictate play from the baseline in the fifth set. Although some nerves surfaced as he attempted to close out the biggest win of his career, Jodar eventually converted his fifth match point after three hours and 41 minutes on court.

His rise over the past 12 months has been remarkable. Ranked 707th in the world a year ago, Jodar has enjoyed a breakthrough clay-court campaign, winning his maiden ATP title in Marrakesh, reaching the semi-finals in Barcelona and making quarter-final appearances in Madrid and Rome.

The Spaniard will now face Zverev for a place in the semi-finals, with the experienced German standing between the teenager and a dream run at Roland Garros.

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