Alexander Zverev reached his fourth consecutive semi-final in the French Open on Wednesday by seeing off Australian Alex de Minaur 6-4, 7-6, (7/5), 6-4 in the night session.
The German will next face Casper Ruud, the 2022 and 2023 runner-up, on Friday for a place in the final after the Norwegian was handed a walkover following Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal with a knee injury.
Fourth seed Zverev is still bidding for his maiden Grand Slam title.
The 27-year-old was not at his best against De Minaur – making 48 unforced errors and hitting only 20 winners – but dug deep at the right moments, including saving a set point late in the second set before winning a tie-break.
He failed to serve out the match in the ninth game of the third set, but finished it off with a break just minutes later.
“Happy to be in another semi-final, hopefully I can win one,” said Zverev, who has lost six of his previous seven Grand Slam semi-finals, including all three at Roland Garros.
Zverev is playing under the shadow of an ongoing trial in Berlin over allegations of assaulting an ex-girlfriend.
De Minaur, seeded 11th, had never even got past the second round in Paris before this year, winning just three of 10 matches.
Djokovic had been due to face Ruud in a repeat of last year’s final, but the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s title defence was abruptly ended by the knee injury he suffered during his dramatic last-16 victory over Francisco Cerundolo.
Media reports suggested Djokovic was set to undergo surgery, which would put his participation at Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics in doubt.
Sinner will usurp Djokovic as world number one next week and the Italian goes up against Carlos Alcaraz in Friday’s other men’s semi-final.
There will be a first-time French Open men’s champion for the first time since 2016 on Sunday, with Ruud the only man left in the draw who has previously reached the final.
