Roland Garros gets a new king: Who is ready for the biggest challenge?

&ldquo;Pressure is a privilege, and champions adapt,&rdquo; legendary tennis player Billie Jean King once said.That sentence has become a kind of mantra for generations of players that followed, and it will be especially relevant this Friday at Roland Garros.With such a rare opportunity, the question is who will best handle the tension and expectations.BBC analyst Jonathan Jurejko introduces us to the semifinalists of the tournament in Paris.Alexander Zverev &ndash; the main favoriteAlexander Zverev had this to say when asked if cares about making his 5th #rolandgarros Semifinals 🫣Is this the year he wins his first Slam? pic.twitter.com/9GVfq8CRi3&mdash; TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) June 5, 2026The shocking elimination of top seed Jannik Sinner in the second round turned the tournament from an expected one-man dominance into a completely open race for the trophy.German player and second seed Alexander Zverev thus became the main favorite to win the &ldquo;Musketeers&rsquo; Cup,&rdquo; but he carries painful memories of three lost Grand Slam finals.His biggest missed opportunity came at the 2020 US Open, when he lost a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem.In the 2024 Roland Garros final, he ran into a superior Carlos Alcaraz, while in last year&rsquo;s Australian Open final he was stopped by Jannik Sinner in a dominant performance.Many believe that was his best chance to win a Grand Slam title.However, now Alcaraz, Sinner, and Novak Djokovic are out of the tournament, so it can be said that Zverev has perhaps never had a better opportunity to finally claim the long-awaited title.Will he manage to keep his composure?&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care that I&rsquo;m considered the favorite,&rdquo; Zverev said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m focused only on the next match and the opponent across the net. That&rsquo;s the only thing I can control. If I win those matches, it will be great.&rdquo;Jakub Men&scaron;&iacute;k &ndash; the youngestJakub Mensik vs Alexander Zverev: First-Ever Meeting Madrid 2026As the pair meet in the Roland-Garros semi-finals, look back on the highlights of their first ever meeting in Madrid earlier in the 2026 clay court season.pic.twitter.com/qDUPRYgVzg&mdash; Tennis Performances (@TENPerformances) June 4, 2026 Roland Garros semifinals, Friday:2:30 PM &mdash; Men&scaron;&iacute;k vs Zverev7:00 PM &mdash; Arnaldi vs CobolliCzech player Jakub Men&scaron;&iacute;k has long been considered one of the biggest talents who could challenge the dominance of Sinner and Alcaraz.The 20-year-old possesses an extremely powerful serve, excellent defense, and very good movement, which he demonstrated best in an impressive quarterfinal victory over Brazilian teenager Jo&atilde;o Fonseca.He particularly impressed with his composure, as he needed until his seventh match point to secure the win.Men&scaron;&iacute;k has already shown that he has the mental strength to win major titles, having defeated Novak Djokovic in the Miami Masters final last year.However, the question remains how he will respond on the biggest stage of all.Former Roland Garros champion Michael Chang, who in 1989 became the youngest Grand Slam winner in history at just 17, believes that youth alone is not a guarantee of success.&ldquo;It may be easier in some aspects if you don&rsquo;t overthink everything, but young players also feel great pressure,&rdquo; Chang said.&ldquo;There are expectations, and that doesn&rsquo;t always give them the freedom to go out and play without burden.&rdquo;Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Arnaldi &ndash; the Italian underdogs&quot;This is the best chance of my life&quot;Flavio Cobolli reacts to reaching the Roland Garros semi-finals 👀 pic.twitter.com/1mHcBSTegY&mdash; TNT Sports (@tntsports) June 3, 2026If someone had predicted before the start of the tournament which two Italians would reach the semifinals, almost everyone would have expected Jannik Sinner among them.Many would perhaps also have picked Flavio Cobolli, the 10th seed, but few would have predicted that 104th-ranked Matteo Arnaldi would join him.The two are close friends who first met as 11-year-olds at junior tournaments. More than a decade later, they will face each other on the biggest stage of their careers.Cobolli has more experience at the highest level, having reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year.Does that bring extra pressure?&ldquo;It depends on how you see things. I never put pressure on myself,&rdquo; said Cobolli, who was a talented football player in AS Roma&rsquo;s academy before tennis.&ldquo;I try to enjoy every moment like a child, with a lot of passion and a smile.&rdquo;Four of them, but only two will remain 😤 Check out our last, Best of Practice by @MastercardEU 🎾#RolandGarros #Priceless pic.twitter.com/WIQkXXM65G&mdash; Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2026 In contrast to him, Arnaldi finds himself in completely uncharted territory.In his previous 12 Grand Slam appearances, he has managed to reach the second week of a tournament only twice.A persistent foot injury prevented him from training and competing regularly at the start of the season, and in April he admitted that the previous six months had been the most difficult period of his career.That is why he made the most of the opportunity that came his way in Paris, spending nearly 20 hours on court on his way to the semifinals.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t complain. I&rsquo;ve played a lot of tennis, but I&rsquo;m happy to be on court because I missed playing,&rdquo; Arnaldi said.&ldquo;I still have enough energy for the next matches.&rdquo;

Roland Garros gets a new king: Who is ready for the biggest challenge?

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