French Open: Zverev overcomes Mensik challenge; Cobolli advances to final after Arnaldi withdraws with a virus

PARIS: Alexander Zverev reached his fourth Grand Slam final on an afternoon when the Paris sun made only sporadic appearances, much like the fluctuating form of Jakub Mensik. The 6 ft 6’ German, the French Open’s second seed, the only player in the semifinals to have made a major final, came through 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in just over three hours, against an opponent, who was struggling with a strained neck, the 20-year-old even took a medical timeout to have it attended to.“I’ve always found a way even when things got difficult. I feel like today Jakub started playing amazing tennis in the third set and I found a way straight away in the fourth set,” said Zverev, who has made the final dropping just two sets en route.“Today definitely was the toughest challenge. He played some amazing tennis throughout the two weeks.” The 29-year-old has enjoyed a solid run at Roland Garros, where he’s making his 11th straight main draw appearance, having reached the quarterfinals or better in the past six editions. He had advanced to four consecutive semifinals on the Parisian clay, from 2021 to 2024, before falling to Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 final and to Novak Djokovic in last year’s quarterfinal.Zverev will enter Sunday’s final as the favourite for the title against the 10th seed Flavio Cobolli, who advanced to the championship match without striking a ball after world No. 104 Matteo Arnaldi was unable to take the court due to a virus. It was the first all-Italian men’s semi-final at any Major.