French Open

French Open semi-finals: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova eye Final berths

The French Open is hurtling towards the closing stages. It has been a dramatic fortnight at Roland Garros and we now focus our attention on the semi-finals. In this preview, we will take a closer at two matches — Alexander Zverev v Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Tamara Zidansek. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas accustomed to fast starts at Roland Garros

Tsitsipas has made a habit of coming out of the blocks quickly. And against Daniil Medvedev, it was no different for the number five seed. Indeed, the Greek turned in another superlative display to run out a straight-sets winner – 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-5. In doing so, he set up a blockbuster showdown with Zverev.

Tsitsipas is on the cusp of something special, and he is through to his third consecutive Grand Slam semi-final. Against Medvedev, Tsitsipas was flawless on his first serve in the opening set as he won a total of 20 of his 24 points. He also executed an astonishing 83% of his first serves and had Medvedev on the back foot.

Stefanos Tsitsipas developing a Grand Slam mindset

The Greek feels at home on the red dirt. Having already lifted the Monte Carlo Masters earlier on in the clay court swing, clinching the French Open would silence some of his detractors. More importantly, he has developed a mindset that is helping him compete for the Slams, and he has won 15 of his past 17 matches at this level.

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ ‘ego’ is telling him something different

So far, Tsitsipas’ toughest match at Roland Garros was the third round, where he dropped a set against the big-serving American John Isner. However, it was interesting to hear what Tsitsipas had to say after his quarter-final win over Medvedev. He said: “I feel privileged that I’m in my position. But you know, my ego tells me I want more.”

Alexander Zverev in cruise control as he enters uncharted territory

For Zverev, the terre battue hasn’t always been kind to him. However, he was barely tested in his last eight encounters with Spaniard Davidovich Fokina as he conceded a meagre six games in the contest. We’re still waiting on Zverev to unlock the vault to Grand Slam glory, and he has been close before.

Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas facing potential Rafael Nadal complex

For both Zverev and Tsitsipas, reaching the French Open final would represent a big accomplishment. But standing in their way could be the mercurial Rafael Nadal, who is targeting an astonishing 14th Grand Slam title in Paris, and with it a record-breaking 21st major. The numbers for Nadal are mind-boggling, especially when you consider he has won 36 straight sets.

He could surpass Bjorn Borg’s record of 41 consecutive sets won if he reaches the Final and triumphs. Nevertheless, he will have to get past Novak Djokovic, who is targeting a second French Open title. But we shouldn’t look too far ahead, as we have already seen some surprise storylines at Roland Garros, including Dominic Thiem’s early exit.

In seven previous meetings between Zverev and Tsitsipas, the head-to-head record weighs in Tsitsipas’ favour as he has prevailed on five occasions. They have only played each other once on clay before in which Tsitsipas came out on top in Madrid, but this could be a titanic tussle. Tsitsipas may squeeze through, but don’t expect it to be in straight sets!

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova shows battling qualities to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final

The women’s draw so far has seen the top seeds tumble, but there have been some fascinating subplots. One of those involved Pavlyuchenkova, who made it to a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time in her career after she battled back against Elena Rybakina to take the deciding set 9-7. How much this will have taken out of her, we won’t know yet.

Standing in her way will be Zidansek, who is currently ranked 85th in the world. Zidansek has emerged as one of the surprise packages of the French Open, and in the first round, she stunned sixth seed Biancu Andreescu. She has shown she can pierce the strongest of defences, and it will be fascinating to see if she can break down Pavlyuchenkova.

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