Alexander Zverev cemented his status as French Open favourite by ending the challenge of teenager Rafael Jodar.The 19-year-old Spaniard has been one of the stories of the tournament with his run to the quarter-finals on his debut at Roland Garros.But he was unable to emulate famous namesake Rafael Nadal who won the title on his debut as second seed Zverev eased to a 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-3 victory.Zverev has shown in the past a tendency to be too passive when opportunities arise, and it appeared the same might happen when he trailed Jodar 5-2 in the opening set.But, after Zverev hit back to level, it was largely one-way traffic, with the 29-year-old German clinching victory after two hours and 29 minutes.The World No 3, who is guaranteed to face another young gun next with Joao Fonseca meeting Jakub Mensik in the night session, said: “I feel like today was a very tough test against a very good player and I managed.“Of course I'm happy to be in the semi-finals and, for now, that's it. I just want to keep going.”Meanwhile, a tearful Marta Kostyuk dedicated her French Open quarter-final victory over compatriot Elina Svitolina to the people of Ukraine.For the first time in the open era, two women representing the troubled country met in the quarter-finals of a major tournament, bidding to set up a last-four clash with Russia's Mirra Andreeva.Svitolina had experience on her side and the support of French husband Gael Monfils but it was 23-year-old Kostyuk who proved the stronger, continuing her incredible form on clay with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 win.Kostyuk began the fortnight in tears on court, revealing her family home in Kyiv had almost been hit by a Russian missile, and she was initially too emotional to speak after the win over Svitolina.“I want to start with this historical match with Elina,” Kostyuk said after composing herself.“We had a very difficult night again in Ukraine, especial in Kyiv, with many people dead, and I want to give this match to the Ukrainian people and their resilience.”The claycourts of Roland Garros have been ​transformed into a complex geopolitical chessboard with the Russian invasion of Ukraine now in its fifth year.In the quarter-finals, world ​No 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus faces Russia’s Diana Shnaider, whose compatriot Anna Kalinskaya takes on Poland’s Maja Chwalinska.Belarusian and Russian players are competing under neutral flags on the WTA Tour and at the Grand Slams.Teenager Andreeva said she was focusing on how to win her semi-final against Kostyuk.“Usually it doesn't matter to me who I'm playing against, so I'm trying to really focus on the game and on the game plan that I have to use on the court,” Andreeva said. Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka after her win over Japan's Naomi Osaka. ReutersInfoNew opportunity for women's playersBeyond the war, Sabalenka said she hopes French Open organisers have been persuaded to put more women's matches on in the night session after her high-class performance to beat Naomi Osaka.For the first time in three years and only the fifth time since the one-match night session was introduced in 2021, a women's match was given centre stage, ending a sequence of 33 consecutive men's contests.Sabalenka's fourth-round clash with four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka was one of the biggest matches of the tournament so far. The Japanese star was outplayed in a 7-5, 6-3 defeat lasting an hour and 27 minutes.Victory means Sabalenka has reached at least the quarter-finals in her last 14 major tournaments and she has a first French Open title firmly in her sights.“I think it's really important that they put our match today as a night session,” said the top seed.“I think that's the right move. I think the atmosphere and the attention that this match brought is going to show them that probably for the future they should consider putting at least sometimes women matches at night.“So I hope that this is the beginning. It's like we open up that door for woman night sessions.”