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Alexander Zverev moved within striking distance of a first Grand Slam title as the German reached the French Open final again with a 7-5 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory over 26th seed Jakub Mencic on Friday.
The 29-year-old, who has lost three major finals including one at Roland Garros two years ago, looked sharp in Paris and faced the Italian 10th seed. Flavio Coboli, He was given a semi-final walkover after compatriot Matteo Arnaldi withdrew due to a virus.
A tight opening set on a sun-kissed court swung Philippe Chatrier Zverev’s way when he hit a backhand crosscourt winner in the 11th game, and he stepped up with a fine shot that Mencic sent into the net.
The world No 3 sent a powerful ace to pocket the first set and asserted himself with an early break early in the second set, as the 20-year-old Mencic’s level dipped briefly in his first Grand Slam semi-final.
Mencic sat with a towel on his head during a changeover and his problems deepened after the restart, when Zverev took his game up a few notches and broke a double before doubling his lead in the match.
After a lengthy medical timeout with a neck problem, the Czech Mencic mixed his booming serve with deft drop shots to break for a 4-2 lead en route to winning the third set, but Zverev held on in the latter without drama.
Jakob Mencic, 20, battled through the first two sets, but won the third before falling once more.
Mencic announced himself as a potential major contender in the near future this fortnight, knocking out Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev and fellow young gun Joao Fonseca.
Mencic’s run was made all the more impressive considering he needed a wheelchair to get back to the locker room after collapsing in the heat after the second-round match.
But he spent four hours longer on court than Zverev to reach the last four and he could not maintain the level of consistency needed to challenge the German.
Sunday will be Zverev’s fourth Slam final and second in Paris after losing two sets to one to Carlos Alcaraz two years ago.
He came even closer in his first final against Dominic Thiem at the US Open in 2020, blowing a two-set lead and losing in a deciding tie-break, while he was well beaten by Janic Ciner in the Australian Open final last year.
Had Mencic taken one of three chances to break at 4-3, things could have played out differently, but he was a little passive and paid the price three games later.
British umpire James Keothavong was kept busy deciding on several close calls, several of which put him in conflict with Zverev, when he timed the German for taking too long to change his racket.
But in the end, the 29-year-old avoided any deeps when Mencic netted a backhand to convert on his first match point.
Cobley is in his first Grand Slam final since a walkover vs. a virus-stricken Arnaldi
The second semifinal at Roland Garros did not take place on Friday, as Arnaldi withdrew against fellow Italian Cobolli due to a viral illness, organizers confirmed.
Cobley knocked out Canadian fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals with a 4–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 win. His previous best performance at a Grand Slam was in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Arnaldi, ranked 104th in the world, defeated the likes of Frances Tiafoe and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the tournament and advanced to the semi-finals when Matteo Berrettini was forced to retire in the second set of the quarter-finals.
“It’s not what I wanted to do. Last night I started feeling sick and then during dinner I started feeling like this in my stomach and then I woke up at 1 in the morning and started vomiting,” Arnaldi told reporters.
“I couldn’t sleep at all. At 6-7 in the morning I vomited again and we called the doctor into the room and he gave me something. But today I couldn’t eat all day – every time I ate or drank I went back to the bathroom.”
This will be Koboli’s first Grand Slam final and will enter the top 10 when the world rankings are released on Monday.
“It’s hard for me too, I almost cried when he came to me an hour ago,” Cobley said.
“It’s something you don’t expect at all, I was ready to play this match. The only thing we will celebrate is getting into the top 10.”
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