Zverev ruthless against Mensik, one step from first Slam at Roland Garros | 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, across both the men's and women's draws.

In a Roland Garros edition 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 win 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 the door for the German as early as the first week.

Zverev, meanwhile, only had a minor scare when he dropped a set to local player Quentin Halys in the third round and was coming off a crushing win over rising prospect Rafael Jodar in the quarterfinals. Against Mensik, he also wobbled in the third set, when he allowed the Czech his only break of the match, but he recovered by taking a quick lead in the fourth to seal the win convincingly.

The German's great chance 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 title favorites 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 the 2025 Australian Open final, and Jannik Sinner was his executioner. It was the least competitive of the Grand Slam finals involving the German, who lost in straight sets to the Italian and world No. 1.

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