By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday June 8, 2024
The 27-year-old German powered past Casper Ruud to reach his first final at Roland-Garros.
Photo Source: Mark Peterson/ Corleve
Paris – Alexander Zverev has waited a long time for a breakthrough like the one he experienced on Friday night in Paris.
A loser in the semifinals in each of the last three years at Roland-Garros – including 2022, the year in which he tore three ligaments in his ankle and had to be stretchered away from his semifinal against Rafael Nadal – the 27-year-old German finally reached his first final in Paris, taking out Casper Ruud 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
Zverev, who improves to 34-8 lifetime on the Parisian clay, will face 21-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
The German emphatically snapped a run of five consecutive Grand Slam semifinals lost, and reaches his first major final since the 2020 US Open.
“Going from the US Open final where I was two points away to, you know, being rolled off in a wheelchair here two years ago. It's all path of my journey,” he said. “Look, I'm in the final. I haven't won yet. But I just want to play my best tennis and give myself the best chance. If I am able to do that and if I am able to lift that trophy, it will mean the world to me.”
Ruud scorched Zverev in the semifinals at Roland-Garros in 2023, dropping just seven games against the 6’6” Hamburg native. And he jumped out to an early lead on Friday, but lost control of the match in the second set and never could get it back.
The Norwegian wasn't helped by a stomach issue that he started to feel in the first set. He sought medical attention on court but wasn't able to resolve the issue and his energy was sapped as the contest progressed.
Zverev served 19 aces and won 86 percent of his serve points, and the German dropped just seven points on serve in sets two and three as he took the two sets to one lead.
He broke Ruud twice in the second set, finishing the match on a dead sprint, to increase his current winning streak to 12.
Zverev owns a 5-4 lifetime edge over Zverev that includes an upset win in the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros in 2022.
Alcaraz has defeated Zverev in their other two clay court meetings, which occurred in Madrid in 2022 and 2023.
“It is a Grand Slam final. If you're in a Grand Slam final, you deserve to be there. That goes for both of us,” Zverev said. “I think both of us are expecting a tough battle.”