Alexander Zverev booked his spot in the Roland Garros semi-finals for the fourth consecutive year on Wednesday when he overcame 11th seed Alex de Minaur 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-4.
Under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the German was not at his fluid best at times but dug deep when needed to record a straight-sets victory against De Minaur. Zverev responded after squandering a break advantage in the first set to take the opener. He then rallied from a 3/5 deficit in the second-set tie-break to take full command.
Zverev then produced front-foot tennis in the third set and recovered from a late wobble when he failed to serve out the match at 5-3, breaking De Minaur in the next game to advance 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. "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."
The No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings has won his past 11 matches, having lifted his sixth ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Rome last month. Zverev will aim to make it 12 consecutive victories when he meets Casper Ruud in the semi-finals on Friday. The Norwegian Ruud received a walkover from Novak Djokovic ahead of their quarter-final clash.
Zverev has often found his best level at Roland Garros, holding 33-8 record at the clay-court major. However, the 27-year-old has never reached the title match at the event and he suffered a devastating blow in Paris in 2022, when he suffered a long-term ankle injury in his semi-final clash against Rafael Nadal.
Zverev rallied past Tallon Griekspoor and Holger Rune in five sets earlier this week, while he also overcame 14-time record champ Nadal in the first round and former World No. 7 David Goffin in the second round. Zverev is chasing his first major title.
De Minaur, who upset World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round, was competing in his first Roland Garros quarter-final and second at a major. The Australian is up three spots to No. 8 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
Did You Know?
Zverev is just the 11th man in the Open Era to reach four consecutive Roland Garros semi-finals.
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