Last complete square. The Norwegian Casper Ruud, world number 4 and outgoing finalist, stopped the young Dane Holger Rune (6th) 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros on Wednesday and joined the German Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals. Zverev dismissed Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry (49th) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 earlier in the day. The other semi-final will offer the shock anticipated since the draw, between Novak Djokovic and the world number 1, Carlos Alcaraz.
“I’m in the semi-finals of Roland-Garros and I’m very happy about it! As I said before, the past year has been the most difficult of my life. That’s why I’m so happy to be back. I’m coming back on Friday (for his semi-final) and I couldn’t be happier,” exulted Zverev at the end of his match, recalling his serious injury last year.
Last year was particularly painful for Zverev, who was forced to retire in his semi-final against Rafael Nadal. A year ago, he left the Philippe-Chatrier court leaning on crutches, victim of a tear in the ligaments of his right ankle while he was making life difficult for the Spaniard (who had won his 14th title two days later).
Zverev thus qualified for his third semi-final in a row at Roland-Garros and will face for a place in the final, which would be his first in a Major since the US Open 2020, the Danish prodigy Holger Rune (6th) or the last year’s finalist, the Norwegian Casper Ruud (4th), who clash in the evening.
In the first set, Zverev earned the break to lead 4-3 and quietly held his faceoff until the end.
In the second, he committed faults which allowed his opponent to regain confidence, like this completely missed spike which concluded a service game which he had started with two double faults in a row and which allowed Etcheverry to break 5-3 and serve to equalize at a set everywhere, which he did not fail to do.
Zverev then started the third set very badly by committing five unforced errors in as many points played, which allowed the Argentinian to make the entry break.
But at 2-0 for his opponent, the German managed a series of five games to lead 5-2. He then offered three set points in a row on the opposing serve, but Etcheverry scored the next five points to force Zverev to serve for the win of the set. What he did.
The fourth set quickly turned in favor of the German: after saving two break points at 1-2, it was he who broke to lead 4-3. He still had to save two break points before confirming his 5-3 advantage.
The 23-year-old Argentinian had never passed the second round in a Grand Slam, reached in January in Australia.
In Paris, after having benefited in the first round from the abandonment in the second set of Jack Draper (55th), Etcheverry lined up victories of choice against Alex De Minaur (19th), Borna Coric (16th) and Yoshihito Nishioka (33rd) without losing a single set to climb into the quarters.
“He plays incredibly well and he reminds me of Del Potro (Juan Martin, Argentinian, twice semi-finalist at Roland-Garros in 2009 and 2018). He will come back often in the quarter-finals here, that’s for sure,” Zverev predicted.