ALEXANDER Zverev savors the sweetness of his first Grand Slam title after winning the men’s singles event of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris.
PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of DIMITAR DILKOFF/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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PARIS, France (AFP) — Alexander Zverev finally secured his maiden Grand Slam title with a dramatic five-set victory over Italy's Flavio Cobolli in the French Open final on Sunday.
The second seed became the first German man to win a major tournament since Boris Becker at the 1996 Australian Open with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1 victory after four hours and 16 minutes.
"This court is so special to me in so many ways... but now finally, it's a happy end," said Zverev, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the 2022 semi-final against Rafael Nadal on Court Philippe Chatrier, where he was also edged out in five sets by Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 final.
It was Zverev's fourth Grand Slam final and second at Roland Garros after some heartbreaking near misses in his career.
"We've been through losses, we've been losers at times as well in the most important moments," he said during the trophy presentation, turning to his team.
"But at the end of the day, we're Grand Slam champions now, and that's what counts."
Cobolli, the 10th seed, was bidding to become the first Italian man since Adriano Panatta to win the French Open in 50 years.
The 24-year-old had never even played a Slam semifinal before, let alone a final, after his last-four opponent Matteo Arnaldi withdrew from the tournament through illness.
"It's not easy for me to talk right now," said Cobolli after receiving his runner-up trophy from Panatta, before addressing Zverev.
"I'm happy for you, but I'm also sad because I was close and I feel it. So now you've achieved your dream, let me win next time."
Both players appeared to struggle with nerves at various points in the match, especially Cobolli during an error-strewn first set.
But Zverev's greater experience showed in a deciding set that was far tenser than the scoreline suggested, as he managed to get over the line.
The 29-year-old was handed a golden opportunity to break his Grand Slam duck by the injury-enforced absence of reigning champion Alcaraz and surprise early exits for Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.
The world No. 3 was not always in control, making 54 unforced errors, but did enough to finally shed the tag of being one of the best players to have never won a major.
Zverev had previously also lost in six Slam quarterfinals and seven semi-finals, alongside his three final defeats.
The most agonizing miss of all was his first major final when he blew a two-set lead and failed to serve for the championship against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.
The now-retired Thiem was watching on from the stands at Roland Garros as Zverev belatedly put the memories of that match to bed six years later.
Cobolli made a nervy start and appeared to be struggling to deal with the occasion as the first set quickly got away from him in 39 minutes, making 16 unforced errors.
He managed to settle into the match with three successive holds of serve in the second set and then made his move out of nowhere to break in the seventh game.
