Zverev's quest for a title continues in the Paris semi-finals.
The dream continues: Alexander Zverev advances to the semifinals of the French Open for the fourth consecutive time, just two victories away from his first major championship. Zverev faced a challenge from Alex De Minaur.
Alexander Zverev gave a celebratory wave to the crowd and took a deep breath. The German tennis star has reached the semifinals of the French Open for the fourth straight time. The 27-year-old emerged victorious in his quarterfinal match against the surprise Australian talent Alex De Minaur, capturing the win with scores of 6:4, 7:6 (7:5), 6:4. He now stands two wins away from claiming his first Grand Slam tournament championship.
"It feels great to be back in the semifinals," Zverev said with a smile during his post-match interview. "I hope I can finally win one of these one day." For the next round, the Hamburg native will face off against the Norwegian Casper Ruud on Friday, who took advantage of Novak Djokovic's withdrawal due to injury in the quarterfinals.
Having just played two physically taxing five-set matches against the Dane Holger Rune and the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, Zverev required approximately two and a half hours on Court Philippe Chatrier for this encounter.
In the history of the professional era, only ten other players have managed to reach the semifinals of the French Open four times in a row. Among the present-day tennis stars, this feat was achieved by the 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, the Spanish clay court master Rafael Nadal, British tennis champion Andy Murray, and Austrian Dominic Thiem.
Struggles with the forehand
Zverev entered the match as the obvious favorite, boasting a record of seven wins in their previous nine meetings, including their only encounter on clay two years ago in Rome. "The main question is: How healthy is Sascha Zverev?" questioned tennis legend Boris Becker on Eurosport, considering Zverev's recent physical ailments.
Zverev's focus seemed to waver in certain parts of the match. Ambiguous forehand shots plagued his game, and De Minaur skilfully manipulated them. A warning at 5:6 and 40:40 in the second set, when Zverev took too much time on his serve, raised concerns. Zverev successfully navigated through this crucial moment as well as a 0:4 deficit in the tiebreak. He then lifted his finger to his ear and called for more support from the crowd. In the third set, Zverev broke at 5:3 to secure the win, but then lost his serve. In the resulting return game, he sealed the deal.
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Alexander Zverev's semifinal appearance in the French Open is reflected in the 'Tennis - ORDNER', as he fights for his first Grand Slam title. Following his triumph over De Minaur, Zverev will face Casper Ruud in the semifinals, a match that could potentially see Zverev emulating the achievements of tennis greats like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who have also reached the semifinals of the French Open four times in a row. Despite facing challenges, such as his wobbling forehand, Zverev's determination continues to shine in the prestigious French Open, maintaining his consistency in Grand Slam tournaments, including the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, commonly known as the 'French Open' in the world of tennis.
