Alexander Zverev thrashes Rafael Jodar to reach last four in French Open

Alexander Zverev recovered from a shaky start to defeat Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-3 and make it to the semi-finals of the French Open on Tuesday, as he continues his bid for his first Grand Slam title.

The German second seed has a golden chance to finally put his hand on a major title as Carlos Alcaraz is injured, and world number one Jannik Sinner and 24-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic are eliminated.

Zverev made a comeback from a break down in the first set to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the fifth time in the last six years.

He will take on Czech Jakub Mensik or Brazil's Joao Fonseca next.

Zverev was asked if he was happy to be in the semi-finals again, to which he made clear he was looking beyond the last four.

"Not really, I don't really care. I want to keep going, be in the tournament and win the matches ahead of me, that's my goal," he said.

"It was a very tough test against a very good player."

The start of the contest between the experienced Alexander Zverev and the much-hyped Jodar lived up to the expectations, with the 19-year-old Spaniard breaking for 4-2.

Zverev, however, kept his nerves under control and rallied with the help of successive crosscourt backhands to pull his opponent wide. He levelled for 5-5 and won the set in a one-sided tiebreak.

After the opening set, momentum totally shifted towards the German and Rafael Jodar never got a chance to threaten a comeback.