31st May, 2022
German third seed Alexander Zverev beat Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz 6-4 6-4 4-6 7-6(7) on Tuesday and reach a second straight semi-final at the French Open.
This was the first time the 25-year-old Zverev defeated a top-10 opponent at a Grand Slam in 12 attempts and his victory came against a player who came into the contest having won 14 consecutive matches.
Zverev, who lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2021 semi-final, had a 2-1 head-to-head lead against Alcaraz.
But his opponent had won their most recent meeting — the only one on clay — this month in the final of the ATP Masters in Madrid.
Alcaraz made 56 unforced errors as Zverev saved a set point in the fourth set tiebreak before converting his second matchpoint with a superb backhand service return.
The victory has set him up against either world number one Novak Djokovic or 13-time French Open champion Rafa Nadal.