French Open 2026 results: Alexander Zverev beats Jakub Mensik to reach fourth Grand Slam final
While Zverev has had no shortage of success, with 24 ATP titles and an Olympic gold medal to his name, he has so often been the nearly man on the Grand Slam stage, heading into this match with seven defeats from 10 major semi-finals.
On his three appearances in the finals, he has thrown away a two-sets-to-love lead against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open, lost to Alcaraz in Paris after leading two sets to one, and gone down in straight sets to Sinner in Melbourne in last year.
With his path to the title opening up, all eyes have been on him during the second week – but so far, the German has worn the pressure well.
After a cagey start on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Zverev showcased his superior experience in the big moments, saving three break points in the eighth game and converting his only break opportunity three games later.
He seized control in a clinical second set which lasted just 33 minutes, breaking Mensik twice.
For his part, the Czech overplayed his drop shot and committed five double faults across the opening two sets – a stark contrast to the efficient Zverev, who maintained a 75% first serve percentage and struck eight aces to two double faults.
Mensik, who had looked down and out when he called for medical attention to his neck early in the third set, roared back to deny Zverev a fifth straight-set win of the tournament, seizing his only break point of the set in the sixth game.
Zverev’s body language had the hallmarks of another costly self-destruction, with the world number three increasingly irritated as unforced errors flew from his racquet.
But he regrouped to make the decisive break early in the fourth, winning the opening three games and giving up just five points on serve to close down any talk of a decider.
“He [Mensik] beat so many unbelievable players and I knew it was going to be the toughest challenge I had so far. I managed, I won, and I am happy,” Zverev said.
“He started playing amazing in the third set. He stepped up to another level. This is a Grand Slam. Opponents are going to play better, and you have to deal with it – and I did.”
