French Open 2025: Novak Djokovic beats Alexander Zverev, to face Jannik Sinner in semifinal

PARIS: Novak Djokovic beat Alexander Zverev to reach the semifinal of the French Open 2025 on Wednesday in Paris, becoming the oldest man to do so at Roland Garros since 1968 at the age of 38, according to the ATP Tour website.

The 38-year-old delivered a tactically astute display to prevail 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and reach a record-extending 51st Grand Slam semi-final. Djokovic successfully deployed a more varied approach to win the match and improve to 9-5 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the German.

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“Especially during the last game, my tactic was just to play drop shots. So I played three or four in a row… Maybe you can’t see it on TV, but there is a lot of wind from one side, so it gives the sensation that you must hit twice as hard. It was important to vary the game”, Novak Djokovic said after his victory over Alexander Zverev.

With his 101st victory at the clay-court major, three-time champion Djokovic set a semifinal meeting with top seed Jannik Sinner, who earlier eased past Alexander Bublik in straight sets. Djokovic and Sinner are tied at 4-4 in their head-to-head record. However, Sinner has won the last three meetings between the two players. Djokovic won their only meeting on clay in 2021.

Sinner, currently 17-1 on the season according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, joins countryman Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinals. It is the first time in the Open Era that two Italian men have reached the semifinals of the same Grand Slam event.

“Evidently, there was a lot of pressure at the end, Zverev has been one of the best players in the world over the past six years. Matches like this tonight are the reason why I still want to play and compete,” he added.

Djokovic is chasing his first major title since the 2023 US Open. Carlos Alcaraz, defending champion at Roland Garros, and Sinner, between them, have won each of the five that followed. (ANI)