Alexander Zverev beats Alex de Minaur to reach fourth straight ...

Updated 05/06/2024 at 22:04 GMT

Alexander Zverev saw off a battling Alex de Minaur to reach the French Open semi-finals for the fourth year in a row.

Zverev converted five of six break points and fought back from 4-0 down in the second set tie-break as he sealed a 6-4 7-6(5) 6-4 victory.

The head-to-head record between Ruud and Zverev is level at 2-2, with Ruud winning in straight sets when they met at the same stage of the French Open a year ago.

Speaking after his win over De Minaur, Zverev said: "I think for me I have the mindset that you have to work harder than everyone else to be the best player and I think the best players are all doing that.

"I like to work to my absolute limit and if I do that then playing five sets is not all that difficult. I have been doing that over many years and I am happy it’s still paying off.

"Happy to be in another semi-final, hopefully I can win one."

Zverev’s only Grand Slam final appearance was in 2020 when he lost to Dominic Thiem at the US Open.

Against De Minaur he grabbed an early break in the third game, only to then lose his own serve immediately.

But a double fault from De Minaur handed Zverev another break and a 4-3 lead.

Zverev recovered from 0-30 to win the next game and then came back from 15-30 in his following service game as he clinched the set with a backhand winner.

'He gets off to a kick-start' - Zverev breaks De Minaur in first set

After back-to-back love holds to start the second set, Zverev broke first after a mishit backhand from De Minaur.

But a double fault from Zverev saw the advantage given straight back.

There was little to separate the two players as they slugged it out over a number of long rallies.

De Minaur fashioned a set point with a brilliant backhand lob but couldn’t take the chance. The Australian let an even better opportunity slip through his fingers in the tie-break, which featured a 39-shot rally, as he lost it from 4-0 up.

The third set went on serve until Zverev broke for a 4-2 lead.

De Minaur continued to battle and pumped his fist after breaking back, but Zverev sealed the win in the next game as he returned to the semi-finals again.

You can watch every day of the 2024 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+