Zverev ruthless against Mensik, one step from first Roland Garros Slam | OneFootball

The German will play for the title in Paris for the second time after defeating Jakub Mensik in four sets. He will be the only Top 5 player in the Grand Slam final, including both the men’s and women’s draws.

In an edition of Roland Garros full of surprises in both the men’s and women’s draws, Alexander Zverev has managed to uphold the expected order in the sport by becoming the only Top 5 player to reach the final. He did so thanks to his four-set victory over Czech player Jakub Mensik (7-5, 6-2, 3-6 and 6), and for the fourth time in his career he is now one match away from winning his first Grand Slam title.

Carlos Alcaraz’s inability to defend the title he won in Paris due to a wrist injury, which will also keep him out of Wimbledon, along with the early exits of Jannik Sinner, who lost in the second round to Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, and Novak Djokovic, who fell to Joao Fenseca in the third, opened up the path for the German as early as the first week.

Zverev, meanwhile, only had a minor scare when he dropped a set in the third round against local player Quentin Halys and came into this match after cruising past rising prospect Rafael Jodar in the quarterfinals. Against Mensik, he also wavered in the third set, when he allowed the Czech his only break of the match, but recovered by taking an early lead in the fourth to close out the win convincingly.

The German’s great opportunity to win the first Grand Slam of his career also has to do with the fact that the players contesting the other semifinal were not among the top favorites for the title either. Sascha’s opponent will come from the all-Italian clash between world No. 14 Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Arnaldi, who began the tournament ranked No. 104 in the ATP Rankings.

Zverev’s Grand Slam finals

For Alexander Zverev, this will be the fourth Grand Slam final of his career and the second at Roland Garros, where in the 2024 edition he was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in five sets after having led 2-1.

The first one he played was at the 2020 US Open, where he was also beaten in five sets by Dominic Thiem. It was a tough blow for Sascha, because he failed to capitalize on the two-set lead he had built in the match.

In addition, Zverev played in the 2025 Australian Open final, where Jannik Sinner was his executioner. It was the most one-sided of the Grand Slam finals involving the German, who lost to the Italian and world No. 1 in straight sets.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.