For Jakub Mensik, defeating top seeds is quite a cakewalk. He defeated Jannik Sinner at the Qatar Open, defeated Novak Djokovic in Miami last year, and entered the 2026 French Open as the 26th seed before leaving as one of the tournament’s greatest stories. However, on Friday afternoon at Court Philippe-Chatrier, he stood in front of a barrier named Alexander Zverev.

Alexander Zverev reached his fourth Grand Slam final by defeating Jakub Mensik 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in three hours and one minute. Zverev was level-headed throughout the game, winning 79% of points with his first serve, and broke Mensik’s serve at the crucial moment in the first set and dismantled him in the second. Mensik won the third set before Zverev easily closed it out in the fourth. And after the match, Mensik did not try to hide the fact that he was simply outplayed.

“Very, very tough guy on the court,” he said in his post-match press conference. “He’s not giving you any free points. It’s very tough to find the rhythm, especially when he’s staying so much behind. You feel like you’re hitting a wall. For me, it was very difficult to get into the rhythm, to get into my zone.”

He recognized the tactical difficulty of facing someone who takes the ball so deep and consistently. “I had my game plan, which in some ways made it super tough to choose the right shot selection. Obviously, there were good moments and, of course, a little bit worse moments in that match, but it is what it is.”

As dramatic as “the wall” metaphor sounds, it was very true. Zverev is 198 cm tall, covers the baseline like a player ten centimeters shorter, and returns at a depth and height that throws off almost everyone he plays. Mensik, who stands at 196 cm, had built much of his tournament around explosive serving and quick net approaches. Those weapons were significantly difficult to execute against a player who simply refused to give him chances.

This was their second meeting this year. Zverev won the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3 in April, and the pattern continued here. Mensik had answers for nearly everyone else in the draw. The margin against Zverev was clear, and it showed in every set.

Flavio Cobolli stands in the way of Zverev

Jakub Mensik’s fairytale run was ended in the semifinals by Alexander Zverev. Another fairytale, the Italian dream, Flavio Cobolli, stands in the way of his maiden Grand Slam victory.

Although on Sunday, Zverev will face a very different opponent. Flavio Cobolli, the Italian tenth seed, is in his first Grand Slam final after Matteo Arnaldi withdrew with an injury before their semifinal, allowing Cobolli to enter the biggest match of his life on a walkover and with much more rest than Zverev. He had an extra day of rest, while Zverev fought Mensik for three hours on Friday. On paper, that is an advantage. Without the big-match experience to use in a Philippe-Chatrier final stage, it is almost irrelevant.

Zverev leads their head-to-head 3-1, and their previous clay meetings have produced consistent results. Zverev won 66% of his service points in the 2025 French Open, breaking Cobolli six times. Earlier this year, in Madrid, he won 73% of service points and did not allow the Italian a single break. Cobolli is one of the tour’s most improved players, and his run here is a complete fairytale. However, a 198 cm tall Zverev on clay, serving at his best, is a different beast than anyone Cobolli has faced in Paris.

The stakes are high for both men, but particularly for Zverev. He has lost Grand Slam finals to Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open, Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 French Open, and Jannik Sinner at the 2025 Australian Open.

Zverev, 29, is widely regarded as one of the best players in the sport who has never won a Grand Slam, and this draw, with Sinner out early and Alcaraz absent due to injury, has given him the best chance of winning his first Grand Slam title. Cobolli is the only thing standing between Zverev and his maiden Grand Slam. Cobolli will almost certainly use Nadal’s shower on Saturday night. It remains to be seen whether the Cobolli fairytale has a happy ending or the uncrowned king finally wins his first silverware.