Tennis matches will be held. - "Jubilant": Zverev advances to French Open finals.
Alexander Zverev triumphantly lifted his racket, grinning contentedly. The German tennis prodigy had broken through his semifinal curse at the French Open and reached the finals for the first time in his career. The 27-year-old overpowered Casper Ruud with a score of 2:6, 6:2, 6:4, 6:2, placing him just one win away from capturing his coveted first Grand Slam title.
"When not now, then when?" asked the Olympic champion with a grin in an interview on Court Philippe Chatrier, "I'm extremely satisfied to have made it to this point. I'll give it all I've got on Sunday." Instead of shaking hands, he offered Ruud, who appeared to be enduring stomach issues, a fist bump at the net.
On Sunday, Zverev will face the Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz (21), who won the battle of the young guns against Jannik Sinner (22) 2:6, 6:3, 3:6, 6:4, 6:3, and has also reached the Roland Garros final for the first time. Zverev secured victory after a two-hour, 35-minute battle with his first match point. The prosecution against him for assault charges in Berlin had concluded without a guilty verdict.
This is the second Grand Slam final for the Olympic champion. In 2020, he narrowly failed to land the grand prize against Dominic Thiem at the US Open. Zverev now joins Boris Becker as the only German players in 28 years to compete in the final match for the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
During the match, Zverev dominated from the second set. Initially, Ruud, who had benefited from the withdrawal of defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, remained calm and focused. However, Zverev progressively found his rhythm, hitting with power and improved consistency in his serves. Ruud began to show signs of stress and made mistakes. Physically, the seventh-ranked player visibly struggled, bent over after ball exchanges on multiple occasions.
Zverev received a boost before the first serve: The legal proceedings against him in Berlin for accusations of bodily harm were terminated without a verdict. The Berlin District Court Tiergarten dismissed the proceedings against an imposed fine of 200,000 euros. The payment for the fine did not entail an admission of guilt. Zverev remains innocent.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, set a record with his impressive triumph against the future world number one: He is the first player in the professional era to have reached a Grand Slam final on all three surfaces, clay, grass, and hard courts. Both finalists at the US Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2023 had previously won their respective Grand Slam finals.
"It was one of the toughest matches I've ever played," Alcaraz asserted after the grueling match, "You have to find joy in suffering. I think that's the key, especially here on clay at Roland Garros."
Meanwhile, in women's singles, world number one Iga Swiatek and surprise Italian finalist Jasmine Paolini will clash for the championship. Paolini is also a contender for a double victory in Paris, as she advanced to the doubles final with Sara Errani on Friday following a win over Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine and Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania 1:6, 6:4, 6:1. Swiatek and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic will be their opponents.
