Alexander Zverev Sets his Sights on Grand Slam Title After Defeating Casper Ruud in Roland-Garros Semi-Final

Alexander Zverev holds his final! This Friday evening, on the Center Court of Roland-Garros, the German overthrew the Norwegian Casper Ruud, 7th player in the world, in four sets (2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2) and 2h38 of Thu. The 4th player in the ATP, who was playing his fourth consecutive semi-final at Porte d’Auteuil, finally reached a milestone, facing the reigning double finalist. On Sunday, the No. 4 seed will face Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz to try to win his very first Grand Slam title.

Alexander Zverev took a set to enter this meeting. The fault lies with a service, despite its strong point, failing, with only 44% first service. The German, who had nevertheless obtained a break point from the start, even gave up a first white serve. At 5-2, the 4th player in the world dropped a second throw-in, only to find himself down one set to zero (6-2). A year ago, at this same stage of the competition, Alexander Zverev was swept away by Casper Ruud, in three short sets (6-3, 6-4, 6-0).

Zverev became unplayable on serve

The German appeared physically worn out and was even pushed around by his opponent, who dictated the game during these first 36 minutes of play. In this 2024 edition, Alexander Zverev went through all the emotions. This was particularly the case in the third round and in the round of 16, when he lost the first set each time, against Tallon Griekspoor then Holger Rune, before coming out in five sets. Once again, the German should not be buried so quickly.

From the start of the second round, the recent winner of the Masters 1000 in Rome showed a completely different face. On serve, the 27-year-old, whose first serve percentage reached 80% in the last two sets, even became almost unplayable, with two shutouts to start the second and third sets. Casper Ruud only managed to take three points on his serve during the second set (2-6). During the third, when concluding, Zverev, certainly out of overconfidence, chained together two aces (19 in total), then two double faults, to offer an opportunity to break the break to his competitor, who ultimately did not know take advantage of it and then even got knocked down (6-4).

Ruud physically diminished

During the second part of this match, Casper Ruud was livid and grimacing, visibly bothered by stomach aches, as was the case with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-final. The outgoing double finalist showed his physical limits by being broken twice in the second set, once in the third then two final times in the final set (6-2). The Norwegian’s errors were fatal to him, against Alexander Zverev, who managed 54 winning shots (compared to 34), including numerous backhands down the line.

The German has already played a final in a Grand Slam tournament, at the US Open 2020. At that time, he came up against the Austrian Dominic Thiem, crowned. This year, the former world number 2 has necessarily gained in maturity, to hope to finally open his account in one of the most prestigious tournaments.

2024-06-07 20:08:00
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