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Alexander Zverev is one victory away from fulfilling his long-standing Grand Slam ambition on Friday night, booking his place in the Roland Garros final for the second time in his career.
The second seed produced a composed and clinical performance to overcome rising Czech star Jakub Mensik 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the semi-finals. Despite a spirited fightback from the 20-year-old in the third set, Zverev maintained control for much of the contest to secure his spot in Sunday's championship match. The victory sends the German into his fourth Grand Slam final and gives him another chance to capture the first major title of his career when he returns to Court Philippe-Chatrier for the title showdown. With fellow title contenders Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic bowing out early, the draw opened up significantly, but Zverev still had to maintain his high standards to capitalise on the opportunity. The German has done exactly that, producing a dominant campaign in Paris and dropping just two sets across six matches en route to the final. The 29-year-old's latest run has also secured his place in the record books, making him only the fifth active men's player to reach multiple singles finals at Roland Garros. With another title-match appearance on the Paris clay, Zverev now stands just one win away from capturing the elusive first Grand Slam crown of his career. Zverev came within one set of the title in Paris in 2024 and has also finished runner-up at the US Open in 2020 and the Australian Open last year. In his latest bid on Sunday, World No. 3 Zverev will face 10th seed Flavio Cobolli. "He started playing amazingly in the third set. He really stepped up to another level. But this is a Grand Slam, it's best-of-five set matches. Opponents are going to play better. You have to deal with it... I did, and I hope to play another great match on Sunday," Zverev said as per the ATP Tour website. (ANI)
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