The Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic defeated (4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4) the German Alexander Zverev on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of Roland Garros, the second ‘major’ of the season, where he will face the world number one, Italian Jannik Sinner.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion, aiming for the historic record of titles at 38 years old, showed his prowess against the world number three and last year’s finalist, a strong-starting Zverev. Djokovic overshadowed his opponent with a touch of legend, aiming for another final in Paris.
The night session at Philippe Chatrier was of the highest quality, a reunion after the Belgrade native had to withdraw before their semifinal at the Australian Open. The German, once again close to his first ‘major,’ came out all guns blazing at the Parisian court, breaking serve early on and taking the set.
‘Nole’ wasted no time in getting into his rhythm and broke Zverev in the fourth game, then masterfully saved a break point. The Belgrade champion, who won his 100th title in Geneva as a prelude to Roland Garros, began to show his intentions, while mosquitoes bothered Zverev on the Paris court.
The three-time champion claimed the second set, and the third was almost a formality (6-2). Djokovic turned the match around with maximum authority and outpaced his opponent in the fourth and final set. Zverev started by losing his serve and once again failed to break Djokovic’s serve in a tense sixth game. ‘Nole’ needed five match points, but he closed it out.
The Serbian thus reached his 51st Grand Slam semifinal, where on Friday he will face Sinner, who defeated Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan (6-1, 7-5, 6-0) in the morning session. The Italian, who reached the final in Rome in his return after a three-month suspension, once again displayed a devastating form, aiming for a third consecutive ‘major’ after winning the US Open 2024 and the Australian Open this season.
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