Alexander Zverev reaches the French Open final on the day his court case is resolved in Germany

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.