So far in the 2022 French Open, all of the focus in the men’s draw has been on a small group of players.

Few have had anything to say about Alexander Zverev, other than the phenomena of Carlos Alcaraz‘s adolescent breakout, the aspirations of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to walk deeper into tennis history books, and even the opportunity offered to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the vacant bottom half.

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However, a player rises to third place in the rankings for a cause. He demonstrated why on a cool evening at Roland Garros, remaining rock solid against an inconsistent Alcaraz and snuffing out the surrounding excitement as he triumphed 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7) to advance to the semi-finals.

Alcaraz had jumped right into the contest, attempting to impose his brand of high-octane, all-court tennis. Despite his zeal, his timing was utterly incorrect. Unforced errors poured in from both his forehand and backhand.

Zverev was significantly more reliable. He absorbed the Spaniard’s inside-out forehand with his own outstanding backhand, which surprisingly did not commit a single unforced error over the course of two and a half sets. He served effectively, pressed when necessary, and his traditional flaws, his second serve, and forehand, held up.

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Alcaraz had plenty of his usual stunning moments in the second set, but he simply couldn’t find his level. As the third set began, he had made four times as many groundstroke faults as Zverev, a whopping 28 to the German’s 7.

By the third set, Alcaraz was on the verge of breaking, and he had breakpoint at 4-4. He saved it with a brave drop shot, held it, and then made his move without hesitation. He extended the match with a beautiful return game after concluding a long exchange with a great forehand passing shot, then landing another delicate drop shot.

Soon later, the pair found themselves in a similar position in the fourth set, but when Zverev forced errors with the calibre of his defence, Alcaraz disintegrated, double-faulting on breakpoint. Regardless, as Zverev served for the match, he wobbled. He made two jittery unforced errors, and Alcaraz took advantage, finishing the return game with unwavering intensity and a crosscourt backhand winner.

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They went back and forth in the tie-break, trading victories till the conclusion. But, in the end, Zverev was considerably braver than he has ever been in a major grand slam match. While Alcaraz survived the first match point, Zverev soon generated a second, which he did not waste, striking a winning backhand down-the-line return to win the match.

With his triumph, Zverev has crossed a significant threshold. Despite being a top-10 player for nearly five years, he has now won a grand slam in the top ten for the first time in his career.

By reaching his second consecutive Roland Garros semi-final, he has enhanced his chances of becoming world No. 1 when Djokovic’s Wimbledon points expire next month.

The ATP is still looking into Zverev after his ex-girlfriend, Olya Sharypova, publicly accused him of domestic violence, which he denies.

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Meanwhile, Alcaraz has orchestrated a fantastic entrance, but his defeat should be viewed with caution. Despite how easy he has made his tennis look and how much he has ripped up the tour, none of this is easy. Especially not in best-of-five-set matchups, something the 19-year-old Spaniard is still getting used to.

Experience counts a lot in these important moments, and Zverev has a lot of it despite being unable to take the final step. Reaching the quarter-finals of his second French Open is an accomplishment in and of itself, and Alcaraz’s goal should be to gain from this and return even more refined.