Germany's Alexander Zverev reached the French Open semi-finals for the fourth consecutive year by seeing off the spirited challenge of Australia's Alex de Minaur.

Fourth seed Zverev, 27, came through to win 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 against 11th seed De Minaur.

Now Zverev has another chance to reach the Roland Garros final after missing out in each of the past three years.

Standing in his way will be Norwegian seventh seed Casper Ruud, who outclassed Zverev in last year's semi-finals.

"I’m happy to be back in another semi-final, hopefully I can win one," said Zverev.

Ruud, 25, moved into the last four without playing as a result of Novak Djokovic's withdrawal on Tuesday.

Defending champion Djokovic, 37, pulled out with a knee injury which hampered him during a gutsy fourth-round win on Monday.

In the other semi-final Italian second seed Jannik Sinner will take on Spanish third seed Carlos Alcaraz.

Both semi-finals will be played on Friday - when Zverev's ongoing court case into domestic abuse allegations resumes in Berlin.

The Olympic champion, who denies allegations of physically abusing his former girlfriend, does not have to be present in court and remained in Paris when the trial opened last week.

Before the tournament he insisted the case was "not on my mind" and has not spoken about it further.

Despite the shadow of the trial, Zverev is now two wins from clinching the Grand Slam title which his talent on the tennis court has long promised.

Source: BBC

BDST: 0910 HRS, JUNE 6, 2024
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