Zverev goes five again to edge Rune

For the second straight match at Roland Garros, Alexander Zverev battled into a fifth set to survive and advance. On Monday night turned Tuesday morning on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the German came from behind for a 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-2 victory against Holger Rune, keeping alive his bid to reach the semi-finals for the fourth consecutive year at the clay-court major.

By denying Rune his third quarter-final in three Paris appearances, Zverev became the sixth man to reach six Roland Garros quarter-finals this century.

Zverev twice led the fourth set by a break but had to escape 0/15 to force a tie-break in the set's final game. As the pressure ratcheted up, both players were content to play extended baseline rallies — but after splitting those lengthy exchanges for much of the match, the German dominated in the tie-break as he rattled off six consecutive points to turn the tide of the match.

Zverev remained in control in the final set, during which he made just one unforced error, and secured the crucial break on his fifth chance of the set. He won eight of 23 break points in the four-hour, 11-minute match, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Rune converted on a healthy six of 10 break points, despite his opponent making his first serve at each time of asking.

While Zverev executed a gameplan anchored by his heavy and consistent ground game, Rune mixed up his tactics throughout the match. The Dane flummoxed his opponent at times with varied shot selection, taking big cuts on some baseline balls and giving the German no pace on others. He also had success with drop shots for much of the match, but could not find the range in the final set. Ultimately, Zverev's first serve (which he made at a 77 per cent rate, compared to 57 per cent for Rune) and his rock-solid backhand proved too much for Rune to overcome.

Next up for the No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings is Alex de Minaur, who upset fifth seed Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 earlier on Monday. Zverev leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head 7-2, including a three-set win in Indian Wells earlier this season.

Knowing his stamina will be further tested by the indefatigable Aussie, Zverev will hope to make the most of his off day before their Wednesday meeting. Across his past two match against Rune and Tallon Griekspoor, the German has been on court for more than eight and a half hours.