Germany’s Alexander Zverev reached the French Open semi-finals for the fourth consecutive year by seeing off the spirited challenge of Australia’s Alex de Minaur.

Fourth seed Zverev, 27, came through to win 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 against 11th seed De Minaur.

Now Zverev has another chance to reach the Roland Garros final after missing out in each of the past three years.

Standing in his way will be Norwegian seventh seed Casper Ruud, who outclassed Zverev in last year’s semi-finals.

“I’m happy to be back in another semi-final, hopefully I can win one,” said Zverev.

Ruud, 25, moved into the last four without playing as a result of Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal on Tuesday.

Defending champion Djokovic, 37, pulled out with a knee injury which hampered him during a gutsy fourth-round win on Monday.

In the other semi-final Italian second seed Jannik Sinner will take on Spanish third seed Carlos Alcaraz.

More to follow.