Alexander Zverev and Jakub Minsky booked their places in the semi-finals of the 2026 French Open on Tuesday, setting up an exciting last-four showdown between one of the tournament’s favorites and a rising star.While Xavierio continued his impressive run at Roland Garros with another commanding performance, Minsky reached his first Grand Slam semi-final after overcoming fellow teenager Joao Fonseca in straight sets. 20-year-old Rafael Nadal became the youngest French Open quarter-finalist after defeating a 19-year-old. Novak Djokovic In 2006, Minsk would face second seed and 2024 French Open finalist Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. The 20-year-old Czech talent defeated Brazil’s Fonseca 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) in a tight quarter-final encounter. Although Minsky was down six match points in the third set, he held on in the tiebreak to seal the biggest victory of his career and become the first Czech man to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in 2017.Earlier in the day, second seed Alexander Zverev produced a dominant display to beat 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Joder 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 6-3 to reach his fifth Roland Garros semifinal in the past six years.The German was pushed hard in the opening set and found himself 2-5 down facing a set point. However, Zverev responded strongly, reeling off a series of powerful baseline winners and taking control of the match. Once he took the first set in a tiebreak, the 29-year-old never looked back, cruising through the next two sets to complete victory in just two hours and 17 minutes.The landscape at the French Open has changed dramatically in recent days with the exits of Novak Djokovic and Janić Sinner, while Carlos Alcaraz’s campaign has been cut short by injury. As a result, Zverev entered the semi-final stage as the highest-ranked player remaining in the draw and possibly entered as the main contender for the championship.
