Alexander Zverev and Jakub Mensik booked their places in the semifinals of the 2026 French Open on Tuesday, setting up a fascinating last-four showdown between one of the tournament favorites and a rising star enjoying a breakthrough campaign.While Zverev continued his impressive run at Roland Garros with another commanding performance, Mensik reached his maiden Grand Slam semifinal after overcoming fellow teenager João Fonseca in straight sets. After winning the youngest French Open quarterfinal since 20-year-old Rafael Nadal defeated 19-year-old Novak Djokovic in 2006, Mensik’s semifinal challenge will be the second seed and 2024 French Open finalist Alexander Zverev. The 20-year-old Czech talent defeated Brazil’s Fonseca 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) in a tense quarterfinal encounter. Although Mensik missed six match points in the third set, he kept his composure in the tiebreak to seal the biggest victory of his career and become the first Czech man to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in 2017.Earlier in the day, second seed Alexander Zverev produced a dominant display to defeat 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 6-3 and advance to his fifth Roland Garros semifinal in the last six years.The German was pushed hard in the opening set and found himself trailing 2-5 while facing a set point. However, Zverev responded in emphatic fashion, reeling off a series of powerful baseline winners and taking control of the match. Once he secured the first set in a tiebreak, the 29-year-old never looked back, cruising through the next two sets to complete the victory in just two hours and 17 minutes.The French Open landscape has shifted dramatically in recent days following the exits of Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, while Carlos Alcaraz’s campaign was cut short by injury. As a result, Zverev enters the semifinal stage as the highest-ranked player remaining in the draw and arguably the leading contender for the championship.
