French Open
LIVE: Zverev on the verge of victory
Alexander Zverev has fulfilled his dream of winning his first Grand Slam title. The 29-year-old, ranked third in the world, became the first German to win a major in over 30 years at the French Open on Sunday, following Boris Becker’s victory at the Australian Open in 1996.
Zverev defeated 24-year-old first-time finalist Flavio Cobolli of Italy 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1. Zverev took home 2.8 million euros for the title, while Cobolli received half that amount.
Like Dominic Thiem before him, Zverev claimed his long-awaited first title—his 25th overall—in his fourth Grand Slam final. He had lost to Thiem in the 2020 US Open final after a dramatic match. For a long time, Zverev had been considered the best tennis player without a major title and had repeatedly been reduced to that status, despite Olympic gold and two ATP Finals titles. Now he is the first Roland Garros champion from Germany in the professional era.
“This court means so much to me: I’ve had the best moments of my life on this court, and also the worst,” Zverev recalled in his victory speech. “I was lying in that corner over there when I tore all my ligaments against Nadal and lost the final two years ago. And now, finally, there’s a happy ending.”
He thanked his team, led by his father. “To be honest, we’ve been through so much—injuries, defeats—but at the end of the day, we’re Grand Slam champions now.”
Cobolli, who is friends with Zverev, proved to be a gracious loser and went straight over to Zverev after match point to hug him. “It’s not easy for me, but: If someone had asked me who deserved it more, I would always have said you. I’m happy for you, but also sad because I was so close and I can feel it,” said the rising star, adding: “Now that you’ve achieved your dream, let me win next time. I’m still young; it’s not over yet.”
Two-time Paris finalist Thiem was also watching
In front of many stars, including musician Lenny Kravitz and Oscar winner Rami Malek, as well as Austria’s two-time Paris finalist Thiem, the favorite clearly took control from the start. Zverev, who had reached three finals in 40 previous major tournaments, broke serve right away in the hard-fought opening game. While Zverev held his serve confidently, Cobolli couldn’t find his rhythm. The Italian stood no chance in the first set of his first Major final. Breaks to make it 4-1 and 6-1 were a clear statement from Zverev, who had the first set in the bag after 34 minutes.
But as the second set progressed, Cobolli stepped up his game, shook off some of his nerves, and capitalized on his second break point in the seventh game to make it 4-3. The match significantly raised its level, and an increasingly aggressive Cobolli elevated his play by two notches. After 90 minutes, the Italian evened the match at 6-4. The third set was evenly matched for a long time, with Cobolli fending off two break points at 1-2. After that, the servers took control, sometimes with serve-and-volley plays. But at 5-4 in Zverev’s favor, Cobolli made an error at 30-0, and the German earned a break point—and thus a set point—at 30-40, which Cobolli himself missed to make it 4-6.
Zverev wavers in the fourth set
But right at the start of the fourth set, the Italian managed a break thanks to some strong help from Zverev. Cobolli pulled ahead to 3-1, but the experienced German managed to break back to 3-3. Zverev, who was actually back in control, then charged to the net several times with serve-and-volley attempts, aiming to shorten the rallies. He paid the price with his next service break, falling behind 3-4. Cobolli extended his lead to 5-3.
The first physical effects were becoming visible on Zverev; he was clearly having problems with his right thigh. But with the fifth set in sight, Zverev once again pulled out his best tennis and managed to break back just in time to tie the score at 5-5. At 6-5, he then received treatment on his right thigh.
Cobolli held his serve to love in the tiebreak, and after 3 hours and 29 minutes, the underdog actually managed to win the fifth set. The fourth set alone lasted 73 minutes. Zverev, who as a diabetic was constantly checking his blood sugar levels via a mobile app, managed to break serve right away in the deciding set. Immediately after saving a break point, he went up 2-0 and broke Cobolli’s serve again to make it 3-0. Zverev then fended off three break points, and at 4-0, the course was finally set for victory.
Here are the match statistics for your reference:
Zverev is the third German major winner of the Open Era
Zverev is only the fifth German to have triumphed at one of the four major tennis tournaments—the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, or US Open. Boris Becker (6 titles) and Michael Stich (1) were the only ones to have achieved this in the professional era since 1968. Jannik Sinner’s early exit due to a heat-related illness and the absence of the injured defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will likely always be a factor in this context, as the Italian and the Spaniard had won all nine majors from the 2024 Australian Open through 2026. Zverev won’t mind; from his perspective, he has finally cleared this hurdle.
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