Germany's Alexander Zverev clenches his fist after winning the third set during his semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament against Norway's Casper Ruud at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Friday, June 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
PARIS (AP) – Alexander Zverev moved a win away from his first Grand Slam title with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Casper Ruud in the French Open semifinals on Friday, the same day a pending domestic violence court case in his native Germany was resolved.
The fourth-seeded Zverev had lost in the Roland Garros semifinals each of the past three years, including against No. 7 Ruud in 2023.
The opponent in Zverev’s second career major final – he was the runner-up at the 2020 U.S. Open – will be No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, who eliminated Jannik Sinner 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 earlier Friday.
Hours before Zverev’s semifinal began in Paris, word emerged from Berlin that he reached an out-of-court settlement with an ex-girlfriend who accused him of assault during a 2020 argument. A district court in Berlin ended the trial, with the agreement of state prosecutors and lawyers for Zverev and his former partner, Brenda Patea, German news agency dpa reported.
Lawyers for Zverev, who was not required to appear in court during the proceeding, issued a statement saying there was no finding of admission or guilt. A lawyer for Patea did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
The 27-year-old Zverev always denied any wrongdoing and said before the French Open began that he was not concerned about how things would go in the case.
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