Alexander Zverev reached his first Roland Garros final with a 2-6 6-2 6-4 6-2 victory over Casper Ruud.
The German overcame a quick start from the Norwegian to break his semi-final curse at Roland Garros.
Ruud was suffering from stomach problems in the second set onwards as he failed to make a third consecutive Roland Garros final.
Now Zverev will face Carlos Alcaraz as the German looks to win his first Grand Slam title.
Despite the win, it was an underwhelming start by Zverev as Ruud showed why he was the favourite heading into this match.
The Norwegian, who only lost seven games against Zverev in their semi-final meeting last year, took advantage of Zverev’s unforced errors and moved the German from side-to-side to take a 3-0 lead.
A bewildered Zverev failed to up his level as Ruud did damage with both the forehand and the drop-shot.
Another break at the end of the set sealed the one set advantage for Ruud as he looked super comfortable in heavy conditions.
However that comfortability didn’t last long as he was starting to struggle with stomach problems and had to take tablets in the second set.
There was an increase in quality from Zverev though, who was more aggressive and took the match to Ruud.
The German counter-attacked Ruud’s early aggression by being aggressive in his own right as he broke on two occasions in the second set.
There was quick starts from Zverev in the next two sets as Ruud lacked energy, power or quality to stop the German’s power.
After breaking in the fifth game, Zverev had to fend off a late comeback from Ruud who had break point in the tenth game.
However some accurate serving saw the fourth seed hold serve and seal a two sets to one lead.
Another early break was the crucial blow for Ruud’s final chances as the German was in control of the fourth set.
In the seventh game Zverev’s backhand caught fire and was too hot for Ruud to handle as the German broke again and had the opportunity to serve the match out.
A comfortable hold of serve saw Zverev snap his three match losing streak in Roland Garros semi-finals as he reached a second Grand Slam final.
Now Zverev will face Carlos Alcaraz for the title with Zverev leading their head-to-head 5-4.
