French Open
Alexander Zverev reached the semi-finals at the French Open in Paris for the first time in his career. The German won on Tuesday against the 22-year-old Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after a mixed start 6: 4 6: 1 6: 1 and is thus in the semifinals for the third time in a Grand Slam tournament.
In the fight for a place in the final, Zverev will now meet the winner of the duel between the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and the Russian Daniil Medvedev (9:15 p.m., live on ORF Sport +) on Friday. “It’s nice to be in the semi-finals. But that’s not enough for me. I’m playing well, but I hope I can improve in the semifinals. After the first set, my baseline game worked. It wasn’t a good start from me, ”said the 24-year-old.
The first set was very flawed by both players. Both Zverev and Davidovich Fokina had problems getting their service games through. There were a total of seven breaks, the German managed the decisive 6: 4. While the Spaniard, who is 45th in the world rankings, continued to struggle with his game, Zverev was able to improve clearly. The German left his opponent only two games and only needed 50 minutes for sets two and three.
Zidansek and Pavlyuchenkova continue with women
In the women’s category, the Slovenian Tamara Zidansek and the Russian Anastasia Pawljutschenkowa are in the semi-finals. Zidansek is the first player in her country in the semifinals of a Grand Slam. She defeated the Spaniard Paula Badosa 7: 5 4: 6 8: 6. Zidansek had never before survived the second round of one of the four Grand Slam tournaments. “It’s an amazing feeling,” she said.
Pavlyuchenkova, who was 29 years older than her by six years, also made it into a major semi-final for the first time in her long career, at the 52nd attempt. She defeated her doubles partner Jelena Rybakina 6: 7 (2/7) 6: 2 9: 7. Pavlyuchenkova had been eliminated six times before in a Grand Slam quarter-finals. The 21-year-old Rybakina, who beat US star Serena Williams in the round of 16, ended the game after 2:33 hours with a double fault.
French Open in Paris
(France, 34.37 million euros, sand)
