Alexander Zverev moved to within touching distance of the one prize that has eluded him throughout his career, reaching the French Open final with a four-set victory over Jakub Mensik on Friday.
The second seed defeated the 20-year-old Czech 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to book a title clash against Italy’s Flavio Cobolli, who advanced to the final after Matteo Arnaldi withdrew due to illness before their semi-final.
For Zverev, Sunday’s showdown offers another opportunity to finally end his Grand Slam drought.
The German has endured a series of heartbreaking near misses at the sport’s biggest events, losing all three of his previous major finals. Two of those defeats were particularly painful — squandering a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem in the 2020
US Open final and letting a two-sets-to-one advantage slip against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 French Open final.
Now, with early exits for Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic having opened up the draw, the 29-year-old finds himself as the overwhelming favourite to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
The German has now reached the championship match having dropped only two sets throughout the tournament and appears physically fresh heading into the final.
Cobolli Gets It Easy
The Italian advanced without hitting a ball after close friend and compatriot Arnaldi withdrew due to a virus. Arnaldi, ranked 104th in the world, had enjoyed a dream run to the semi-finals but admitted illness left him with no choice.
“Every time I get up I feel dizzy and not the best. So that was the right decision for me,” Arnaldi said.
Cobolli, who has dropped just two sets all tournament, admitted mixed emotions over reaching his first Grand Slam final in such circumstances.
“When he came to me an hour ago I almost cried,” said Cobolli. “At the same time I’m happy with the result this week.”
(with AFP inputs)
