Zverev beats Mensik to reach second Roland Garros final
After three hours and one minute the German got past young Czech Jakub Mensik to book his fourth Grand Slam final and second on the Paris clay.
- Zverev beat Mensik 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the semifinal on Court Philippe Chatrier.
- The match lasted three hours and one minute, and the German dropped only two sets in the entire tournament.
- In the second set he won 93 percent of points on his first serve, 13 of 14.
- It is his second Roland Garros final and the fourth Grand Slam final of his career.
The stands on Court Philippe Chatrier went quiet when Mensik raised his level in the third set and, for the first time in the match, pushed the German onto the back foot. There, at the moment the semifinal could have swung the other way, Alexander Zverev reached for what had kept him above his opponent all tournament: calm on serve and long, patient rallies from the baseline.
After three hours and one minute, the second seed beat young Czech Jakub Mensik 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to reach his second final on the Paris clay. It was a match whose turning point came early, yet the decision only arrived late, once Zverev took back control of the rallies and reeled off a run of games.
How Zverev broke down Mensik
The second set showed why Zverev is the favorite in this half of the draw. His serve ran like clockwork: he won 93 percent of points on his first serve, 13 of 14, leaving Mensik no way into the game. The Czech hit back in the third set with more aggressive tennis and took it 6-3, but that was the only crack.
In the fourth set the German tightened his game again. The key moments come down to a few numbers:
- 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, the final score of the semifinal
- three hours and one minute of playing time
- only two sets dropped by Zverev in the whole tournament
This was Zverev at his best, taking fewer risks, finding more depth and applying constant pressure through the middle of the court. Mensik played his best Grand Slam to date, but experience won out in the end.
What does a fourth final mean for Zverev?
Zverev is now on the brink of a first Grand Slam title. This is his fourth Grand Slam final and his second at Roland Garros, after earlier defeats to Dominic Thiem, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. He carries the weight of those losses into a Paris tournament played this year without Sinner and Alcaraz, a rare window for the German.
In the final he will meet the winner of the all-Italian semifinal, one of whose protagonists is Matteo Arnaldi. Whoever comes through, Zverev will walk onto the main court as the favorite, yet also as a player still chasing his first major trophy in finals.
Is this the year Alexander Zverev finally lifts the Grand Slam title that has eluded him his whole career?
