(Photo credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images)
Germany's Alexander Zverev can finally call himself a Grand Slam champion after winning the French Open title Sunday with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 victory over Italy's Flavio Cobolli at Paris.
Zverev had 24 career ATP titles and a gold medal at the 2021 Olympics at Japan, but he had been 0-3 in Grand Slam finals, including a loss in the French Open final in 2024, before finally breaking through.
Zverev's moment came when Cobolli sent an overhand long of the baseline and Zverev dropped to the red clay, lying on his back in stunned celebration.
Cobolli won a tiebreaker in the fourth set to force a deciding fifth set that Zverev dominated. Zverev broke Cobolli's serve twice to open the final set, took a 4-0 lead and finished off the match with another break of serve.
Zverev overcame nine double faults with a 76% first-serve percentage and saved five of the eight break points he faced. He won 19 of his 22 service games.
In the 2024 French Open final, Zverev lost to Spain's Carlos Alcaraz. He also lost the final at the U.S. Open in 2020 and the Australia Open in 2025.
Cobolli was in his first Grand Slam final. The furthest he had advanced in a Grand Slam tournament before this week was the quarterfinal of Wimbledon in 2025.
--Field Level Media
