Alexander Zverev moved to within touching distance of a maiden Grand Slam title, as the German fought past 26th seed Jakub Mensik 7-5 6-2 3-6 6-3 on Friday to reach the French Open final again.
The 29-year-old, who has lost three major finals, including one at Roland Garros two years ago, has looked sharp in Paris and faces Italian 10th seed Flavio Cobolli, after he was handed a semi-final walkover after compatriot Matteo Arnaldi pulled out due to a virus.
A tight opening set on a sun-kissed Court Philippe Chatrier tilted Zverev's way when he struck a backhand crosscourt winner in the 11th game to bring up a break point, and he nudged ahead with a delicate shot that Mensik sent into the net.
The world No 3 sent down a powerful ace to pocket the first set and asserted himself with an early break at the start of the second set, as the 20-year-old Mensik's level briefly dipped in his maiden Grand Slam semi-final.
Mensik sat with a towel over his head during a changeover and his troubles deepened after the restart, when Zverev took his game up a few notches and sealed a double break, before comfortably doubling his lead in the match.
After a long medical timeout for a neck issue, Czech Mensik mixed his booming serve with deft drop shots to break for a 4-2 lead en route to winning the third set, but Zverev powered through the next with no drama to prevail.
Mensik has announced himself as a likely major contender in the near future this fortnight, knocking out Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev and fellow young gun Joao Fonseca.
His run has been all the more impressive considering Mensik needed a wheelchair to get back to the locker room after collapsing in the heat after his second-round match.
But he had spent four hours more on court in reaching the last four than Zverev and he could not sustain the consistent level needed to really challenge the German.
Sunday will be Zverev's fourth slam final and second in Paris after he lost to Carlos Alcaraz from two-sets-to-one up two years ago.
He came even closer in his maiden final against Dominic Thiem at the US Open in 2020, blowing a two-set lead and losing in a deciding tie-break, while he was well beaten by Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final last year.
Had Mensik taken one of three chances to break at 4-3, things might have played out differently, but he was a little passive and paid the price three games later.
British umpire James Keothavong was kept busy adjudicating on a number of close calls, several of which brought him into conflict with Zverev, while he also gave the German a time violation for taking too long changing his racket.
But at the last the 29-year-old avoided any dips, converting his first match point when Mensik netted a backhand.
The second semi-final at Roland Garros didn't take place on Friday, as Arnaldi withdrew against fellow Italian Cobolli because of a viral illness, organisers confirmed.
Cobolli knocked out Canadian fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals via a 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory. His previous best performance at a Grand Slam was making the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Arnaldi, ranked 104 in the world, defeated the likes of Frances Tiafoe and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the tournament, and progressed to the semis when Matteo Berrettini was forced to retire during the second set of their quarter-final.
"It's not what I wanted to do. Last night I started to feel unwell and then at dinner I started to feel so in my stomach and then I woke up at 1am and started vomiting," Arnaldi told reporters.
"I could not sleep at all. At 6am-7am I vomited again and we called the doctor to the room and he gave me some stuff. But then throughout today I could not eat - every time I would eat or drink I would go back to the bathroom."
It will be Cobolli's first Grand Slam final and he will enter the top 10 when the world rankings are released on Monday.
"It's also tough for me, when he came to me an hour ago I almost cried," Cobolli said.
"It's something you don't expect at all, I was ready to play this match. The only thing we'll celebrate is breaking into the top 10."
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