Roland Garros: semifinals set, Zverev and a first Ukrainian women's last four
Zverev cruised past Jodar, Mensik led against Fonseca, and on the women's side Andreeva and Kostyuk delivered Ukraine its first ever Roland Garros semifinal.
- Zverev beat Jodar 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-3 to reach his fifth Roland Garros semifinal in six years.
- In the night quarterfinal Mensik led Fonseca 6-4, 6-3, with the winner facing Zverev.
- Andreeva crushed Cirstea 6-0, 6-3 and will wait for her semifinal opponent.
- Kostyuk beat Svitolina to become the first Ukrainian in a Roland Garros semifinal.
The clay on Court Philippe Chatrier was dry and fast on Tuesday, exactly the kind Alexander Zverev likes. For the first two games the German looked like he was measuring his opponent, and then, the moment he sensed that Spain’s Rafael Jodar was starting to miss from the baseline, he simply put his foot down and never let off.
It was an afternoon without much drama, but with a clear message: Zverev came to Paris for something bigger than a quarterfinal. Winning 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-3, he booked his fifth Roland Garros semifinal in the last six years, a number that says this surface has long stopped being unfamiliar ground for him.
While Zverev rested, the evening session brought a clash of two generations. The Czech Jakub Mensik led Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca 6-4, 6-3, playing with a maturity beyond what his age might suggest. The winner of that match goes straight to Zverev in the semifinal, so every point carried extra weight.
How far can Zverev go this time?
The numbers after the quarterfinal favour him. Zverev held serve calmly, rarely letting his rival into longer rallies, and the only game he dropped in the first set he settled in a tie-break without visible nerves. Anyone who follows his career knows the problem has rarely been the road to the semifinals, but what comes after.
- Fifth Roland Garros semifinal in the last six seasons
- Sets dropped in the whole match against Jodar: none
- Next opponent: the winner of Mensik against Fonseca
If Mensik holds his lead, Zverev gets an opponent without big-match experience at this level. If Fonseca turns it around, the matchup becomes one where youth could be both an asset and a burden. Either way, the German walks in as the favourite, but a favourite who has already stalled at this stage more than once.
A Ukrainian stamp on the women’s draw
On the women’s side a semifinal was decided that will be remembered well beyond the scoreline. Marta Kostyuk beat Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in an all-Ukrainian quarterfinal and became the first Ukrainian woman to reach a Roland Garros semifinal. After years of Ukrainians reaching the fourth round and the quarterfinals, the ceiling was finally pushed higher.
The other semifinal ticket went to Mira Andreeva, the eighth seed, who played an almost flawless match against Sorana Cirstea and won 6-0, 6-3. The first set lasted about as long as the warm-up, and Cirstea simply had no answer for the pace and depth of the young player’s shots.
After the match the mood around the Ukrainian camp was visibly emotional, as a Roland Garros semifinal for Ukrainian tennis became reality for the first time, rather than just a goal mentioned for years.
So Andreeva and Kostyuk meet in the semifinal, a tie that pairs the clearly favoured game of the eighth seed with the story of a player who broke the ice for a whole country. On paper Andreeva walks in calmer, but Kostyuk has already shown in this Paris fortnight that she can grind through three sets and come back after dropping one.
The semifinals, then, are in place. Zverev waits for the winner of the night match, while on the women’s side two players meet whose names, one way or another, will stay tied to this tournament. Who do you see in the final on Philippe Chatrier?
