Second seed Alexander Zverev survived an early scare against Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar before cruising into the semi-finals of the French Open with a 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-3 victory at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old Jodar threatened to spring a surprise in the opening set, breaking Zverev and moving 4-2 ahead against last year’s runner-up. However, the German weathered the storm, fought his way back into the contest and never looked back after edging a tense first-set tiebreak.
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The victory sent Zverev into the Roland Garros semi-finals for the fifth time in the last six years as he continued his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title.
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With defending champion Carlos Alcaraz sidelined through injury and both world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic already out of the tournament, Zverev finds himself with one of his best opportunities yet to break his Grand Slam duck.
Yet the German made it clear afterwards that merely reaching another semi-final held little significance for him.
“Not really, I don’t really care. I want to keep going, be in the tournament and win the matches ahead of me, that’s my goal,” Zverev said when asked about making the last four again.
“It was a very tough test against a very good player.”
YOUNGR JODAR JUSTIFIES HYPE
For much of the opening set, Jodar justified the hype that has surrounded him in Spanish tennis circles.
The teenager matched Zverev from the baseline and earned the first breakthrough of the match to move 4-2 ahead, briefly putting the second seed under pressure.
Zverev responded in the manner expected of a player with far greater experience on the biggest stages. Using his trademark crosscourt backhand to repeatedly pull Jodar wide, he gradually wrestled back control of the rallies and levelled the set at 5-5.
The opening set lasted more than an hour and ultimately proved to be the turning point of the contest.
Having escaped danger, Zverev dominated the tiebreak before carrying that momentum into the remainder of the match.
The sheer weight of shot from the German began to wear Jodar down. The Spaniard repeatedly found himself rushed on both wings and struggled to consistently time the ball from the baseline.
After losing the opening set from a winning position, Jodar’s resistance faded. Zverev raced through the second set 6-1 and maintained complete control in the third to seal victory in two hours and 29 minutes.
Zverev will next face either Czech teenager Jakub Mensik or Brazilian rising star Joao Fonseca for a place in the French Open final.
– Ends
