Zverev wins French Open, sheds unwanted label
Alexander Zverev has finally shed the unwanted tag of tennis’s best player without a Grand Slam title, defeating Flavio Cobolli in a gripping five-set French Open final to claim his maiden major crown at Roland-Garros.
The German second seed prevailed 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 after four hours and 16 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier, sealing victory in his fourth Grand Slam final appearance and becoming the first German man to win a major title since Boris Becker captured the Australian Open in 1996.
Zverev entered Sunday’s decider as a clear favourite, with most betting sites pricing him around 1.30, while Cobolli was priced between 3.90 and 4.70 following his breakthrough run to a maiden Grand Slam final.
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Those odds reflected the gulf in experience between the pair. Zverev arrived in Paris with three previous Grand Slam final defeats and a 3-1 head-to-head advantage over the Italian, while Cobolli was contesting the biggest match of his career.
The final initially appeared headed for a routine Zverev victory when he stormed through the opening set, but Cobolli responded superbly, levelling the match and then forcing a deciding fifth set after claiming a tense fourth-set tiebreak.
With memories of past major heartbreak looming, Zverev found another level in the decider, breaking early before racing clear as Cobolli’s resistance finally faded.
The victory completed a remarkable fortnight for the 29-year-old, who embraced favourite status after the early exits of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic opened up the men’s draw.
After converting championship point, an emotional Zverev collapsed onto the clay before breaking into tears.
“This court is so special to me in so many ways,” Zverev said.
“Some of the best moments of my life have happened on this court, and some of the worst too.”
The triumph also carried added significance given Zverev’s history at Roland-Garros. He suffered a serious ankle injury during the 2022 semi-finals and was beaten in the 2024 French Open final, making Sunday’s breakthrough all the more poignant.
Cobolli, meanwhile, earned widespread praise despite falling short. The 10th seed became the first Italian man to reach the French Open final since 1976 and pushed the favourite to the limit after entering the match as a significant outsider.
Pre-match betting markets had even offered odds as high as 9.50 for a Cobolli victory in five sets, highlighting how unlikely many punters believed such a scenario to be. Instead, it was Zverev who finally delivered on years of expectation, ending one of tennis’s longest-running major droughts and collecting the Coupe des Mousquetaires for the first time.
