World No. 4 Alexander Zverev secured his place in the French Open semi-finals for the fourth successive year after a 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over 11th seed Alex de Minaur. Under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the German was not at his fluid best at times but dug deep when it counted to defeat De Minaur in straight sets.
Zverev came back after wasting a break advantage in the first set to win the opener. He subsequently overcame a 3/5 deficit in the second-set tie-break to seize complete control.
Zverev then played front-foot tennis in the third set, recovering from a late wobble when he failed to serve out the match at 5-3, and breaking De Minaur in the following game to win after two hours and 59 minutes.
"I have a mindset that you have to work harder than everyone else to be the best player and I think the best players are all doing that," Zverev said as quoted by ATP.
"I like to work to my limit" - Alexander Zverev
The No. 4 in the ATP Rankings has won his last 11 matches, including his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome last month. Zverev will face Casper Ruud in the semi-finals on Friday, looking to extend his winning streak to 12 matches. Ruud received a walkover from Novak Djokovic for their quarter-final match.
"For me, I like to work to my limit and, if I do that, playing five sets is not that difficult. I have been doing that over many years now and I am happy it is paying off. I am happy to be in another semi-final, hopefully I can win one," Zverev added.
Zverev has a 33-8 record in Roland Garros, where he consistently performs at his peak. However, the 27-year-old has never reached the title match at the event and suffered a catastrophic blow in Paris in 2022, when he sustained a long-term ankle injury in his semi-final against Rafael Nadal.
The World No. 4 defeated Tallon Griekspoor and Holger Rune in five sets earlier this week. He also defeated 14-time record holder Rafael Nadal in the first round and former World No. 7 David Goffin in the second round. Zverev is pursuing his first major title.
