Zverev to face Mensik after ending Jodar run

Alexander Zverev's pursuit of an elusive Grand Slam title remained on track with a comprehensive victory over highly-rated teenager Rafael Jodar putting him into the French Open semi-finals.

Second seed Zverev is the highest-ranked man left in the singles draw after a series of shock exits in Paris and he will face Czech 26th seed Jakub Mensik for a place in Sunday's final.

Mensik won in straight sets against Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca in Tuesday's night session.

German Zverev has long been tipped for Grand Slam glory but is yet to get over the line, losing in three finals and seven semi-finals.

He came up short against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 French Open final, despite leading by two sets to one, and has fallen three times in the Paris last four alone.

Tuesday's meeting with 19-year-old Jodar was billed as a potentially tricky tie, with the Spaniard tipped to be a future star.

But Zverev, 10 years Jodar's senior, used all his experience to come through 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 6-3.

"I want to keep going and win the matches ahead of me - that is my goal and my aim," Zverev said.

"Today was a very good test against a very good player. "I am happy to be in the semi-final but for now, that is it."

Zverev is one of just three top-10 seeds still remaining in the tournament, with fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and 10th seed Flavio Cobolli set to meet in one of Wednesday's two quarter-finals.

But Zverev is on the opposite side of the bracket and cannot meet either of those until the final.

Zverev had made his way to the quarter-finals in routine fashion, dropping just one set across four matches.

In contrast, Jodar had played two five-set matches and spent almost 13 hours on court - about four hours more than Zverev.

That did not appear to be a problem when the youthful Jodar broke to lead 5-2 in the opening set, but Zverev took advantage of the Spaniard's nerves as he tried to serve out the opener.

The German levelled the set and then took control of the resulting tie-break before Jodar, who was playing in just his second Grand Slam main draw, began to fade.

Zverev barely let up from the second set onwards, wrapping up victory in emphatic fashion with a crashing forehand.

Mensik and Fonseca, aged 20 and 19 respectively, are tipped to be among the players who could challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the very top of men's tennis over the next few years - and their last-eight tie demonstrated why.

Both men were playing in their first major quarter-final and while Mensik confessed to feeling some early nerves in his post-match interview, his dominant serve proved critical as he moved into a two-set lead without facing a break point.

Fonseca had twice come back from two sets down to win matches at this year's French Open, most notably in the third round against 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

There were flashes of brilliance from the Brazilian throughout, but another mammoth comeback proved beyond him on this occasion under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The third set went on for close to 80 minutes, with Fonseca twice moving a break of serve ahead before being dragged back to parity by Mensik.

Serving at 6-5 down, Fonseca saved six match points in a marathon 12th game of the set before forcing a tie-break - which Mensik controlled to complete a 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-3) victory.

"At the end of the match, there were some incredible shots," said Mensik, a former Masters 1000 champion in Miami.

"I'm super happy that I'm the one that came back. I was a break down a couple of times but I managed to stay focused, stay in the match and keep fighting until the end."

Mensik is the first Czech player to reach a Grand Slam men's singles semi-final since Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in 2017 and he is projected to move back into the world's top 20.