Still in search of a first Grand Slam title at age 29, world No.3 Alexander Zverev qualified for the Roland-Garros final on Friday by beating Czech Jakub Mensik (27th) 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
After three failures in the finals of major tournaments (US Open 2020, Roland-Garros 2024 and Australian Open 2025), the German will try on Sunday to win a first Grand Slam title against an Italian, Flavio Cobolli (14th) or Matteo Arnaldi (104th) who will face each other a little later on Friday.
Zverev favorite
Already dominated by Zverev during their only previous duel on the circuit, at the end of April at the Masters 1000 in Madrid, Mensik played his first Grand Slam semi-final at the age of 20, a little over a year after winning the biggest title of his career at the Masters 1000 in Miami (hard).
If the Czech sometimes upset his opponent, by obtaining three break points at 4-3 in the first set or by snatching the third set, he never glimpsed victory against Zverev, qualified for the final in just over three hours.
Winner of 24 titles on the ATP circuit including seven Masters 1000, the most prestigious tournaments after those of the Grand Slam, the German leads three victories to one in his duels against Cobolli. Arnaldi has never beaten him in three confrontations on the ATP circuit.
Cobolli in the final without playing
The Italian Flavio Cobolli (14th in the world) qualified without playing for the Roland-Garros final on Friday after the last minute withdrawal of his compatriot Matteo Arnaldi (104th), victim of a “virus” according to the tournament organizers. Cobolli will play his first Grand Slam final on Sunday.
