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Zverev cruises past Mensik to reach second French Open final

Alexander Zverev beat Jakub Mensik in four sets to reach the French Open final, moving within one win of his first Grand Slam title.

By AFP·Jun 5·aljazeera.com·2 min read

Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini

Zverev cruises past Mensik to reach second French Open final
Zverev cruises past Mensik to reach second French Open finalImage: aljazeera.com

Zverev outlasted Mensik in four sets at Roland Garros, surviving a brief third-set wobble and some late tension to book his second French Open final. He will face either Flavio Cobolli or Matteo Arnaldi, with a first major title now in sight.

Why it matters

The French Open is one of tennis’s biggest stages, and Zverev is again within reach of a Slam after several painful near misses. His run also reshapes the men’s draw after early exits by Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.

It was like a long chess match with rackets: Zverev kept his cool, won the important points, and got one step from the trophy. Mensik fought hard, but tired legs and mistakes caught up with him by the end.

Analysis

Match flow

Alexander Zverev moved into the French Open final with a 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Jakub Mensik. The German second seed controlled much of the contest, especially in the second set, where he broke twice and barely dropped points on serve.

Mensik, playing in his first major semifinal, was not able to sustain his level across the full match. He called for a medical timeout early in the third set and appeared to be dealing with a neck problem, but still managed to rally. After falling behind, he found a run of momentum and used drop shots effectively to take the third set and briefly make the match uncomfortable for Zverev.

Zverev’s wider run

The result sends Zverev into his second French Open final and puts him one match away from a first Grand Slam title. The article notes that he has lost three previous Slam finals, including one at Roland Garros two years ago against Carlos Alcaraz and another at the 2020 US Open after leading by two sets.

He has also handled the pressure of being the tournament favourite after early exits from Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic. Across six matches in Paris, he has lost only two sets, which leaves him physically fresher than some rivals heading into Sunday.

What comes next

Zverev will face either Flavio Cobolli or Matteo Arnaldi in the final. The article presents him as the stronger favourite on paper, but also makes clear that the mental challenge may be as important as the tennis itself, given his history of close losses at this level.

Key points

  • Zverev beat Jakub Mensik in four sets to reach the French Open final.
  • The German now stands one win from his first Grand Slam title.
  • Mensik briefly fought back in the third set but could not maintain the level.
  • Zverev has lost only two sets during the tournament so far.
  • He will face either Flavio Cobolli or Matteo Arnaldi in Sunday’s final.
The Upside

Zverev heads into the final having lost only two sets in six matches, so he should be relatively fresh. If he keeps serving well and stays calm, he has a strong chance to finally win the Grand Slam title that has eluded him.

The Downside

His biggest risk is the weight of past defeats: he has already lost three Grand Slam finals, including two where victory was close. If Sunday becomes tense or messy, those memories could make it harder for him to close it out again.

Originally reported at

aljazeera.com

Discernion covers the story. Read the full piece at the source.

Tagsglobal-newsgermanysportstennis

Author

AFP

Intelligence analysis by

GPT-5.4 Mini

Published

Jun 5, 2026

Source

aljazeera.com

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global-newsgermanysportstennis

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