Alexander Zverev will attempt to advance to a fourth successive French Open semi-final when he clashes rackets with Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
A closely-contested match-up could be in store at Court Philippe-Chatrier between two players who have already faced off twice this year, beating each other once each.
Match preview
For the second successive match at Roland Garros, Alexander Zverev required five sets to edge closer to French Open glory after following up his third-round victory over Tallon Griekspoor with another hard-fought success over Holger Rune in the fourth round on Monday.
In a tight contest lasting four hours and 11 minutes that concluded at 1:30am local time, Zverev hit a total of 16 aces and registered only three double faults, and he had a 61-60 edge in winners over his Danish opponent Rune, who notched up 50 unforced errors to Zverev's 39.
With Rune leading two sets to one, Zverev went on to dominate the fourth-set tie-break, winning six consecutive points to turn the contest in his favour, and he did not look back in set five, taking a pivotal scalp of Rune's serve at 2-1, before consolidating his advantage to lead 5-2 en route to a comfortable final-set win.
Zverev has become just the sixth man this century to reach six Roland Garros quarter-finals, and although he has played through 10 sets in the space of just two days, the German has stated that he will "survive" and battle through the physical challenges that he is set to face in the latter stages of the tournament.
The fourth seed will hope to make the most of his day off before Wednesday's meeting, as he continues to hunt down his first Grand Slam title and progress to a fourth consecutive Roland Garros semi-final.
Alex de Minaur has progressed to his first Roland Garros quarter-final and just his second-ever Grand Slam quarter-final after coming from a set down to claim a memorable four-set victory over fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round on Monday.
The 25-year-old, roared on by a young superfan that he previously sounded out on social media after his third-round win, has become the first Australian man to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros since former World No.1 Lleyton Hewitt back in 2004.
De Minaur has never considered himself comfortable on the clay, and his progress at this year's French Open has "been a complete shock to the system", but he believes that he has thrived in the "hot, lively conditions" thus far.
Ranked number 11 in the world, De Minaur has never previously progressed beyond the second round at Roland Garros, but he is oozing confidence at present and is now just one match away from making further history and reaching his first-ever Grand Slam semi-final since turning professional seven years ago.
Tournament so far
Alexander Zverev:
First round: vs. Rafael Nadal 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3
Second round: vs. David Goffin 7-6[4] 6-2 6-2
Third round: vs. Tallon Griekspoor 3-6 6-4 6-2 4-6 7-6 (10-3)
Round of 16: vs. Holger Rune 4-6 6-1 5-7 7-6(2) 6-2
Alex de Minaur:
First round: vs. Alex Michelsen 6-1 6-0 6-2
Second round: vs. Jaume Munar 7-5 6-1 6-4
Third round: vs. Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-3
Round of 16: vs. Daniil Medvedev 4-6 6-2 6-1 6-3
Head To Head
Davis Cup (2018) – Round Robin: Zverev wins 7-5 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-6(4)
Washington Open (2018) – Final: Zverev wins 6-2 6-4
Shanghai Masters (2018) – Round of 16: Zverev wins 6-1 6-4
Mexican Open (2019) – Quarter-Final: Zverev wins 6-4 6-4
ATP Cup (2020) – Round Robin: De Minaur wins 4-6 7-6(3) 6-2
Vienna Open (2021) – Round of 16: Zverev wins 6-2 3-6 6-2
Italian Open (2022) – Round of 16: Zverev wins 6-3 7-6(5)
United Cup (2024) – Semi-Finals: De Minaur wins 5-7 6-3 6-4
Indian Wells Open (2024) – Round of 16: Zverev wins 5-7 6-2 6-3
Zverev and De Minaur will do battle for the 10 time in all tournaments on Wednesday and for the third time this year, with the former leading the head-to-head with seven victories compared to the latter's two wins.
The German won each of the first four meetings, including three in straight sets, before De Minaur picked up his first head-to-head win at the ATP Cup in 2020. Zverev then came out on top in two more encounters at the quarter-final stages of the Vienna Open and Italian Open, before suffering a three-set semi-final defeat to the Aussie in the United Cup in January.
Zverev prevailed in the most recent meeting between the two players at Indian Wells in March, with the then-sixth seed coming from a set down to win a fourth-round battle in two hours and 47 minutes.
We say: Zverev to win in four sets
Both players have reason to be optimistic of success on Wednesday, although Zverev will be regarded as the slight favourite to progress to yet another Roland Garros semi-final. De Minaur will hope to take advantage of any fatigue suffered by Zverev, but we still expect the German, boasting a strong first serve and rock-solid backhand, to come out on top.
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