French Open Roland Garros ATP Semi-Finals Round-up | Zverev into fourth Grand Slam final after defeating Mensik as Cobolli given free pathway through after Arnaldi withdraws

The ATP Roland Garros 2026 final lineup is complete, and it will be Alexander Zverev and Flavio Cobolli both fighting for a maiden Grand Slam title in the French capital via contrasting routes.

Zverev had to battle hard against Jakeb Mensik, but proved to have the skillset to deal with the tricky Czech. As for Cobolli, a virus came at the wrong time for Matteo Arnaldi who was forced to withdraw from the French Open minutes before stepping onto the court in a late decision that hands the 10th seed a path through to the final.

Zverev came into today as the favourite to clinch the title. That label is still intact and boosted after getting the better of Mensik 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to blast into a second Roland Garros final.

The German has been a man on a mission since Jannik Sinner’s demise in round two. He is notorious for having not won a major title in a decorated career that has seen him win almost everything aside from the ultimate prize. He will get another shot in Sunday’s final after dealing with another youthful opponent.

The tension was obvious from the start. Four of the first five games went to deuce with there no sign of any breakthrough. That looked to possibly come in the eighth game with Mensik sailing into a 15-40 lead. Zverev forced another deuce before a third break point was saved.

To defeat the best, you need to take your chances when they are offered, and the Czech most certainly did not capitalise. On the contrary, Zverev did. He sailed into the lead after breaking for the first time followed by a commendable hold.

He was much more in control of the second set as Mensik started to flounder. He broke in the third game before taking a 3-1 lead. Two holds to love were followed by another break with Zverev dropping just two points on serve in that set, seeing it out effortlessly.

Mensik looked under the cosh in the third set. After a quick hold he had a medical timeout as his body struggled to keep up. He had played a lot of tennis these last two weeks, and one match in particular against Mariano Navone had him stranded on the ground in pain through cramp.

However, out of nowhere he broke the Zverev serve and saw the set out to make sure that the tie was still up in the air.

Zverev had to call on years of experience and countless class not to throw this one away against a very talented opponent. In the end, that burst from Mensik was not sustainable and Zverev managed to wrangle free once more. That was just the second set he dropped all tournament, and he was not prepared to lose another. He broke the serve in the second game and missed chances to go 4-0 to the good. Not to worry as he converted his first match point and swiftly advanced into a fourth Grand Slam final.

For Cobolli, it was much more simple. He was supposed to get on court with fellow Italian Arnaldi being forced to retire moments before the match was set to commence.

The world number 104 was enjoying a surprising yet best ever Grand Slam run and was hoping to pull off an unlikely run to the final. However, in doing so he racked up more minutes on court than anyone else including two gruelling five-set matches against Raphael Collignon and Frances Tiafoe. He was sparred some luck against former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini after he withdrew in the quarter-final, but now it is his turn to depart the tournament. Not through injury, but a virus that eventually caught up with him.

Despair for Arnaldi, but delight for Cobolli who is in a first Grand Slam final. He will be fresh and raring to go for what will most certainly be by far the biggest match of his life.