Key events
If you need to catch up on yesterday’s women’s semi-finals, Tumaini’s reports are here:
Preamble
Sinner. Alcaraz. Alcaraz. Sinner. Sinner. Alcaraz. Sinner. Alcaraz. Alcaraz … Zverev?
With Jannik Sinner evaporating in the second-round heat and Carlos Alcaraz exiting before the tournament had even started, Alexander Zverev has known for nine long days that he may never get a better chance to be the one who breaks Sincaraz’s duopoly of grand slam titles and finally make that step from the best male player to have not won a major – a label he must be absolutely sick of hearing – to slam champion.
So far Zverev has been playing with the freedom of a player who knows he doesn’t have to face his two tormentors, rather than the pressure of someone who’s expected to win. He’s dropped only one set en route to his 11th grand slam semi-final but, in truth, given the way the seeds have scattered, the 2024 runner-up hasn’t had to face a player of much note to get this far. While Jakub Mensik is raw and unproven at this stage of a slam, the 20-year-old Czech with the huge serve represents Zverev’s biggest challenge to date, having taken out Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev, before brilliantly neutralising the nuclear forehand of his fellow star in the making, Joao Fonseca, in the quarter-finals.
Zverev will hope all of his scars from grand slams past aren’t exposed by Mensik, who’s joined by two other semi-final debutants, Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Arnaldi, as they contest the first ever all-Italian men’s semi at a major – minus the most famous Italian of all. Arnaldi, the marathon man, has spent the most time on court in grand slam history to reach the last four, while Cobolli, a man of many superstitions, has been channelling his inner Rafa to break new ground, even using the 14-times champion’s favourite shower cubicle after every match. Sinner may be long gone, but this wildest and weirdest of French Opens could yet end with a bravissimo champion and Zverev being outshone by another Italian.
L’action commence: 14.30h à Paris/1.30pm BST. Allons-y!
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