Paris, Jun 6 (EFE).- World no. 4 Alexander Zverev moved to the French Open semifinals for the fourth consecutive year with a 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-4 win against Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Wednesday.
The German will face Norwegian Casper Ruud, who received a walkover in the quarterfinal following Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal due to an injury.
It would be a repeat of last year’s semifinal, where Rudd won to qualify for his second consecutive final.
Zverev, who arrived in Paris after winning his sixth Masters 1,000 in Rome, recorded his 11th straight win.
After eliminating Rafael Nadal, a 14-time winner at Roland Garros, in the first round, Zverev reached the quarterfinals, winning at least two five-set matches.
But against De Minaur, who was playing his first quarterfinal in the clay-court Grand Slam, the surface where he has had the worst results in his career, the German once again regained control.
De Minaur, the first Australian to come this far at Roland Garros since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004, however, did not make it easy for Zverev, especially in the second set when he led the tiebreak 4-0 before squandering his advantage.
Zverev will be looking to reach his first final at Roland Garros on Friday, his second after the 2020 US Open, against Ruud, who will have had three days off to prepare for the duel.
Zverev has faced Ruud four times and has not won against him since 2021.
It will be their second duel on clay after last year’s semifinal, the only match between them so far at a Grand Slam.
In the other semifinal, world no. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy will face Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, ranked third in the world.
The transalpine, who is playing his first semifinal in Paris, will be in the hunt for his second consecutive Grand Slam after winning the Australian Open.
Alcaraz, who also reached the semifinals last year, will be looking for his third major, after the US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon last year.
The semifinal lineup in women’s singles was also completed on Wednesday.
Italy’s Jasmine Paolini stunned Kazakh Elena Rybakina, the fourth seed, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, while Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva beat Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4. EFE
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