By Shrivathsa Sridhar
PARIS, June 7 (Reuters) – Alexander Zverev finally shattered the barrier between himself and Grand Slam glory by grinding down a stubborn Flavio Cobolli in the French Open final on Sunday to lift his maiden major trophy at Roland Garros.
After falling in three major finals, including in Paris two years ago, Zverev capped his stellar run by outlasting Cobolli 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1 to become the first German man to capture a Slam since Boris Becker’s Australian Open triumph three decades ago.
In a Paris fortnight during which Carlos Alcaraz was absent due to injury and Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic lost early to blow the draw wide open, the second seed embraced his new status as the favourite for the Musketeers’ Cup and delivered.
“This trophy helps the belief a lot … this year is one of the happiest moments in my career,” Zverev said, joking that he would not care if he was called the worst player to win a major.
“To be honest, I’m a little bit drunk already … I’m just happy to be sitting next to this trophy.
“Now, no matter what happens, I’ll always be a Grand Slam champion, and nobody can take that away from me. Maybe that does give me some freedom. Maybe my mind will be calmer when I play a final … even if I lose, I’ll still be a Grand Slam champion.
“This trophy for me is very important, because if I’d have lost this one, the self-belief would have gone down a lot. Now that I’ve won it, I feel I can do it again.”
SOCCER-LIKE ATMOSPHERE
With the sun shining down on Court Philippe Chatrier, Zverev broke Cobolli with a backhand shot that pinged off the Italian’s orange-framed racket, and he tightened his grip further to wrap up the opening set with a forehand winner down the middle.
Cobolli fired himself up and produced stunning shot-making to break in the seventh game of the next set and then drew level with a confident hold, as the centre court crowd whipped up a soccer-like atmosphere for the former AS Roma academy player.
Those voices soon fell silent deep in the third set as 10th seed Cobolli struck a forehand into the net to gift Zverev a set point, and the German promptly regained the advantage thanks to another unforced error.
A spell of passive play from Zverev meant he was broken twice in the fourth set, but the German dialled up the intensity to go level at 5-5, only to crack under pressure in the tiebreak as Cobolli fired a forehand rocket to force a decider.
Defeats in his three previous Grand Slam finals, at the U.S. Open in 2020, the French Open in 2024 and the Australian Open in 2025, had raised questions about whether Zverev would ever cross the finish line, but the 29-year-old proved his doubters wrong.
With the closing stages of the contest lacking the quality of last year’s epic between Alcaraz and Sinner, Zverev edged in front and used all his experience to reel away the games and finally earn his long-awaited crown.
Zverev dropped to the floor and sobbed, before dusting himself off to greet his close friend Cobolli, and then soaked up the applause at a venue where he has tasted joy, sorrow and pain in equal measure.
He left the 2022 tournament in a wheelchair after seriously injuring his ankle in the semi-finals against Rafa Nadal.
“This court is so special to me in so many ways,” he added.
“Some of the best moments of my life have happened on this court, and some of the worst too. I sat here with seven broken bones four years ago, and I lost a final here.”
TURBULENT TIME
Zverev’s 25th and biggest tour-level triumph comes after a turbulent time away from the court, with the German having faced domestic violence allegations that have cast a shadow over parts of his career.
In June 2024, his lawyers said he had agreed a settlement after the mother of his child, Brenda Patea, had accused him of physical abuse. A German court closed the case with the player not found guilty of any wrongdoing.
In January 2023, men’s tennis governing body the ATP cited insufficient evidence and closed an investigation that had been launched after another former girlfriend, tennis player Olga Sharypova, accused Zverev of domestic abuse.
Zverev repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The 24-year-old Cobolli was left to rue a missed chance to return the Roland Garros men’s title to Italy for the first time in 50 years after Adriano Panatta beat American Harold Solomon in the 1976 title clash.
“It’s not easy for me to talk right now, but I want to start with you, Ale,” Cobolli said.
“If someone asked me who deserved this title more, I would always say you. It’s been an honour, through our relationship, to share the court today.
“I’m happy for you, but I’m also sad, because I was close, and I feel it now. You achieved your dream.
“Let me win the next time.”
Earlier, Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend powered to their first French Open triumph and third major title together, beating Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic 6-2 7-5 in the women’s doubles final.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar and Julien Pretot; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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