Alexander Zverev confirmed his place in the semi-finals of Roland Garros after defeating Rafael Jodar in straight sets.
Zverev survived a first set rally from the Spanish teenager, but he was ultimately too strong for the rising star.
The German defeated Jodar 7-6, 6-1, 6-3 to confirm his fifth semi-final at Roland Garros and he will now await the winner of Matteo Arnaldi and Matteo Berrettini.
Zverev’s latest victory was his 91st Grand Slam win since 2020, which sees him equal Carlos Alcaraz’s record in the same timespan.
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Asked if he was excited to reach a fifth semi-final at Roland Garros, Zverev replied: “Not really. I don’t really care! I want to keep going, of course, I want to be in the tournament. I want to win the matches that are ahead of me.
“That’s my goal, that’s my aim, and today was a tough test. He’s a very good player. I managed, I won, I’m happy about being in the semi-finals for now, that’s it.”
Despite the straight sets victory, Zverev was full of praise for Jodar, who has been one of the stories of the Grand Slam at this year’s event.
“It was difficult,” said Zverev in his post-match interview. “He had a perfect rhythm in the first set and I didn’t. My balls were very short. I was very defensive.
“Again, conditions completely different. String tension is different, the way the ball reacts off the ground was completely different. The ball was not bouncing as high. Heavy top spin was not beneficial.
“I had to flatten my shots out a little bit more. He was playing amazing. He outplayed me at the beginning of the first set. I managed to come back, he played a nervous game when he served for it, and I took my chances well. After that, it was a good match for me.”
Zverev will not play now until Friday, where he will play either Berrettini or Arnaldi. The German plans to watch the night match to see his future opponent.
“I will watch it in my room on TV with a nice drink in my hand maybe. The rest we will see. We have two days off now. It’s important to keep the rhythm, keep practicing. I just want to keep going. We’ll see.”
Zverev is now just two matches away from his very first Grand Slam title and he is the overwhelming favourite to lift the title now. He is the top seed left in the competition and just one of three of the top 10 seeds.
Flavio Cobolli and Felix Auger-Aliassime are the other top 10 seeds left in the tournament, but Zverev will fancy his chances to lift the title.
The post Alexander Zverev reacts after equalling Carlos Alcaraz’s Grand Slam record with latest Roland Garros win appeared first on Tennis365.
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