Quick Served: Roland Garros Day 13
The men's semifinals recap
Andy and Producer Mike discuss Alexander Zverev’s dominant semifinal win over Jakub Menšík, Matteo Arnaldi’s heartbreaking withdrawal due to illness, what it means for Flavio Cobolli and a quick look at the women’s final.
Also, what Andy thinks about Andre Agassi’s raw take on Jannik Sinner’s loss.
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Men’s Semis Recap
Alexander Zverev [3] def. Jakub Menšík [26] 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
Patrick McEnroe described Zverev’s win perfectly as “efficient, professional and relentless.” Zverev showed no signs of feeling pressure, and after blinking in the third set, he opened the fourth with a break and never looked back.
15 forehand winners for Zverev, 4 for Menšík
Zverev served 75%
Zverev had a large edge in shorter points, winning 64-to-47 points of 1–4 shots
Zverev had reached the final without facing a Top 25 opponent
🎤 Alexander Zverev on what he feels when walking out for a match
“Pure emptiness. We are athletes. Very few of us have anything in our heads. Sometimes it’s easier to be stupid than to think too much.”
Flavio Cobolli [10] def. Matteo Arnaldi by walkover
Arnaldi withdrew from the second semifinal before it began, citing a viral illness. The last player to advance to a major final by walkover was Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon in 2022, after Rafael Nadal withdrew with an injury.
Cobolli will play Zverev in Sunday’s final. They split their two meetings on clay this year before Roland Garros, with Cobolli winning in Munich and Zverev in Madrid. Both matches were straight sets.
🎤 Matteo Arnaldi
“I woke up at 1 a.m. and started vomiting. I couldn’t sleep at all. At 6, 7 a.m., I vomited again. We called the doctor to the room, he gave me some stuff. I was hoping it was something from dinner, but throughout the day, I couldn’t eat [without getting sick]. It’s tough. For how the tournament was, how many hours I spent on court, I was feeling actually pretty good. [But] every time I get up, I feel dizzy. Having to withdraw from my first semifinal is not something I would wish on anybody.”
🎤 Flavio Cobolli
“I almost cried. I was completely sad for him. But I’m really happy for the result I’ve had this week.”
Cobolli practiced on Philippe Chatrier in the afternoon and made one fan’s year.
Dream Doubles Finals on Tap
The men’s and women’s doubles finals both feature No. 1 versus No. 2. For the previews, we turned to Hanlon Walsh of Tennis Tribe, which covers ATP and WTA doubles.
Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos [1] vs. Harri Heliovaara/Henry Patten [2] — Saturday
This has been one of the most dominant Slam runs we’ve seen from the top men’s doubles teams in quite some time. In a post–Bryan brothers era that’s still looking for its next defining rivalry and household names, it’s refreshing to see the top two seeds show us why they’re the two best teams in men’s doubles right now.
Granollers and Zeballos have quietly become the gold standard for consistency, loyalty and longevity. They’ve been together for nearly a decade, weathered the ups and downs of the doubles tour and are still contending for the sport’s biggest doubles titles at age 40 and 41, respectively.
It’s the first time the top two seeds have squared off in the Roland Garros final since 2012, when Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor beat the Bryan brothers.
Both teams advanced to the finals without dropping a set.
Heliovaara and Patten haven’t had to play a tiebreak yet or been pushed beyond a 6-4 set. With men’s doubles being incredibly serve-dominant with razor-thin margins, this is an incredibly impressive feat.
Granollers and Zeballos started their partnership 0–3 in Slam finals before reversing their fortunes last year, winning Roland Garros and the US Open. A title in Paris would be their third of the last five men’s doubles majors.
Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend [1] vs Aleksandra Krunic/Anna Danilina [2] — Sunday
Siniakova and Townsend are putting together the kind of season that could end up on the short list of all-time great doubles campaigns if they keep it up. They won the Sunshine Double and then Madrid. At the Australian Open, they lost in the quarterfinal to Krunic and Danilina, who finished as runners-up.
It’s hard to think of a team this dominant since, well, Siniakova’s partnership with Barbora Krejcikova, and before that, Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s 41-match win streak in 2015–2016. The wild part is that Siniakova’s place among the doubles greats is still growing. A title in Paris would be her 11th women’s doubles major, putting her within striking distance of Hingis’s 13 Slams and the Williams sisters’ 14.
Townsend is 28–2 in 2026 with 4 titles: three Masters 1000s with Siniakova and the ATX Open with Storm Hunter. She’s competing for her first Roland Garros title.
Danilina and Krunic were finalists here last year and are 0–2 in major finals together, also making the AO final earlier this year. Danilina herself is 0–3 in major finals.
Both teams are Top 2 in 2026 WTA Finals race.
No. 1 Seed Sweep in Play
If both No. 1 seeds win, they would make it 6-for-6 for No. 1 seeds in the doubles championships at Roland Garros this year.
Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori won the mixed doubles
Alfie Hewett/Gordon Reid won the men’s wheelchair doubles, their seventh consecutive title here
Yui Kamiji/Zhu Zhenzhen won the women’s wheelchair doubles
Niels Vink/Guy Sasson won the quad wheelchair doubles, a mixed-gender event
Perfect Delivery: Blame Game
Andre Agassi joined the TNT Sports desk for the semifinals and needed just three hours to come up with a zinger. Here he is after the Zverev–Menšík match, for which Menšík brought in a mental coach.
🎤 Andre Agassi
“If I was Menšík and I flew my mental coach in first class, he’s going back coach. Or make him walk back.”
Agassi noted that every time Menšík had Zverev under pressure, he let him off the hook. In the first set, Zverev served at 3-4, 15-40, and Menšík laid off his forehand, Agassi said. After Menšík won the third set, he dropped serve right away in the fourth.
Agassi didn’t understand why Menšík did something drastically different with the mental coach at the end of a tournament. The only person you fly in for support at that point, he said, is your mom.
Bracket Challenge Update
Congratulations to Am99, the winner of our ATP Bracket Challenge! There are still 100 points left for the final, but no one within 100 points of Am99 picked Cobolli or Zverev to win the title and therefore cannot overtake the No. 1 position.
The women’s draw and overall winner are still up for grabs and will come down to the winner of the women’s final.
Also: Will Techy Sean beat Andy in the men’s draw by picking Zverev to win it all? Stay tuned!
17 hours, 42 minutes
Matteo Arnaldi’s time on court through four rounds, an all-time record for a major quarterfinalist
Arnaldi’s first four matches lasted nearly two hours longer than any other major quarterfinalist’s in history. He spent another two hours on court during his quarterfinal against Matteo Berrettini, who retired with a hip injury.
Arnaldi’s longest match of the tournament was his fourth-round win over Frances Tiafoe at 5 hours, 36 minutes. Arnaldi came back from two sets to one and 4-1 down in the fourth set to win 7-6, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. He also had a 4 hour, 58 minute fourth-round win over Raphael Collignon, 7-6 in the fifth.
For comparison, Arnaldi spent more time on court in his four matches than either finalist has through six.
Sascha Zverev: 14 hours, 43 minutes
Flavio Cobolli: 15 hours, 23 minutes
Still, Arnaldi didn’t play the longest match of the tournament. That was Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Martin Landaluce’s third-round match, which lasted 5 hours, 58 minutes.
Tiebreak Trivia
Rafael Nadal won 112 matches at Roland Garros. How many did he win in straight sets?
💡 The answer will be in Day 14’s Quick Served newsletter.
Day 12 answer: Agnieszka Radwanska was the first Polish woman to reach a major final in the Open Era (2012 Wimbledon, lost to Serena Williams).
Quick Hits
Venus Williams has picked Maja Chwalinska to win the women’s title. In her own words.
Guga and Gabriela. One for the OG fans.
Andre Agassi took issue with TNT’s Adam Lefkoe calling John McEnroe the greatest American tennis player. Guess who he defended?
Sara Errani played her 20th Roland Garros this year. She took home more than the mixed doubles trophy.
The Onion always does tennis well. This time it’s Serena’s comeback.
Still surreal ⬇️
🍿 Day 14 Matches
Women’s final: Mirra Andreeva [8] vs. Maja Chwalinska
Men’s doubles final: Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos [1] vs. Harri Heliovaara/Henry Patten [2]
Join us in the Substack chat at the start of the day session!
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