Paris, June 9: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev both have been viewed as potential future stars of tennis. Both have come close to Grand Slam titles.
Now the pair of 20-somethings will meet each other for a berth in the French Open final after straight-set quarterfinal victories Tuesday. It will be the youngest matchup in the men’s semifinals at Roland Garros since a couple of guys named Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met in 2008.
The No. 5-seeded Tsitsipas reached his fourth major semifinal and third in a row by upending No. 2 Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-5 at Court Philippe Chatrier in the last no-spectator night session of this year’s tournament. ” I feel privileged that I’m in that position, and I feel obviously I’ve put in a lot of daily hard work (that) has been a key element of me being here,” Tsitsipas said.
That put No. 6 Zverev in his third career Slam semifinal, first in Paris.
Tsitsipas is a 22-year-old from Greece. Zverev is a 24-year-old from Germany. Both have won Masters 1000 titles on red clay this year. Both have won the season-ending ATP Finals. Both intend to and, truthfully, are expected to claim one of the four biggest prizes in their sport.
In the women’s quarterfinals Tuesday, No. 31 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia and 85th-ranked Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia each earned her first berth in a major semifinal.
Pavlyuchenkova entered the day with an 0-6 record in Slam quarterfinals but edged her doubles partner Elena Rybakina 6-7 (2), 6-2, 9-7. Zidansek got past No. 33 seed Paula Badosa 7-5, 4-6, 8-6.
Zverev began this French Open in the worst way possible: He lost the initial two sets he played against qualifier Oscar Otte but hasn’t dropped a set since.
Rafael Nadal dropped a set for the first time at this year’s French Open but ultimately advanced to the semifinals for a record-extending 14th time. The 13-time Roland Garros champion faced a stiff challenge from gritty 10th-seeded Diego Schwartzman and prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Court Philippe Chatrier on Wednesday. Nadal was down 4-3 in the third set but won nine games in a row.
Nadal is up against either Novak Djokovic or ninth-seeded Matteo Berrettini in the semifinals. (AP)
