Zverev wins the French Open and breaks his Grand Slam final hoodoo

For Zverev, it was his 41st attempt to win a Grand Slam. He had previously lost three major finals: the 2020 US Open against Dominic Thiem, last year in Paris against Carlos Alcaraz in five sets, and the 2025 Australian Open against Jannik Sinner. At Melbourne 2026, he had surrendered the second set in a 5:2 lead in the semifinal against Alcaraz and missed the final.

The road to Paris: absences from the competition

The tournament in Paris was a path with obstacles for Zverev, but also with clear signs. Defending champion Alcaraz of Spain withdrew due to injury, while world number ones Sinner and Novak Djokovic exited surprisingly early. The favorite's burden thus visibly fell on the Hamburg player, ranked number three in the world and seeded number two in Paris.

Cobolli was the unexpected final opponent. The Italian, ranked 14th in the ATP and seeded tenth, reached a Grand Slam final for the first time. He had advanced to the semifinal when Matteo Arnaldi, his compatriot, retired from the match due to illness. Cobolli will climb into the world's top ten on Monday regardless.

Cobolli: Surprise finalist on a clear upward trajectory

The final itself lasted five sets and 4:16 hours. After Zverev took the opening set 6:1, Cobolli struck back (4:6) before the German edged the third (6:4). In the fourth set, Cobolli absorbed the pressure, winning the tiebreak 7:5 to force a decider. There, Zverev dominated 6:1 and, after squandering two chances, converted his second match point.

Five sets, four hours, one match point

Physically, it was a final at the limit for Zverev. From the end of the fourth set, he battled muscular problems and had his thigh massaged on the bench. In the fifth set, he bit down determinedly. Boris Becker, three-time Wimbledon champion and on site as an Eurosport expert, paid tribute to the performance: 'Nicht zu glauben, wie Cobolli jetzt aufdreht.' He had closely followed the action on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Becker and the nearly 30-year drought

For Zverev, the title is more than just a trophy. He had repeatedly expressed concern in recent years about going down in history as one of the best players without a Grand Slam title. After his defeat in Melbourne 2025, he said: 'Ich will nicht als der beste Spieler enden, der nie einen Grand Slam gewonnen hat.' Almost a year later, exactly that has been prevented.

Speaking about himself after the final, he said: 'Das Einzige, worauf ich Einfluss habe, ist mein nächstes Match' and 'der Gegner, der vor mir steht.' Asked about his opponent Cobolli, he was full of praise: 'Er ist super talentiert, super jung, er verbessert sich immer wieder.' He also described the Italian as a 'nice person' with 'a good heart'.

Becker had pointed out the special pressure situation before the final: 'Seit der Niederlage von Jannik Sinner redet jeder davon, dass Alexander Zverev nun der Favorit ist.' Becker viewed the way Zverev handled that role positively: he 'geht hervorragend damit um, denn der Druck lastet auf ihm, egal was er sagt.'

The sporting path to the title was not a stroll. In the semifinal, Zverev beat Czech Jakub Mensik in four sets. During the entire tournament, he lost only three sets. On clay this season, he had an open head-to-head with Cobolli: Cobolli had won their semifinal in Munich, and Zverev made amends by winning the quarterfinal in Madrid.

Since the end of February, Zverev has lost only six matches, all against Italian players: four against Sinner, and one each against Cobolli and Luciano Darderi. This record also illustrates that, beyond the injury setbacks of the top trio, it was primarily Sinner and Alcaraz who had set limits for Zverev in recent years. Sinner and Alcaraz had split the previous nine Grand Slams between them.

Off the court, the tournament was accompanied by a side note: Zverev's partner Sophia Thomalla, a television presenter, was not in Paris due to work commitments. Because of Zverev's superstition, her traveling to the final had not been planned anyway, but she intended to attend a potential winners' celebration.

A motto was visible in the stadium on final day: 'victory belongs to the most tenacious.' For Zverev, the message matched the five-hour feat of endurance in the fifth set.

Outlook: Vienna, Kitzbühel, and history

Prize money for the men's singles at the French Open this year totaled €61,723,000. In the coming weeks, Zverev, Cobolli, and Parisian semifinalist Mensik head to the Erste Bank Open in Vienna (October 24 to November 1). Cobolli is also entered in the Generali Open in Kitzbühel in mid-July.

With the Paris title, Zverev is now the first major winner since the 2023 US Open who is neither Sinner nor Alcaraz. The last German men's title at a Grand Slam in the Open Era dates to 1996, also won by Becker. Before that, there has been a generation of professionals since 1968 without such success for German men's tennis.

At the same time, it is a personal closing chapter after a difficult injury phase. In 2022, Zverev severely injured his ankle in the semifinal against Rafael Nadal in Paris, tearing several ligaments and having to leave the court in a wheelchair. Rafael Nadal said at the time that seeing Zverev crying in the locker room 'war ein schlimmer Moment'. Four years later, Zverev stands in the same place, now with the trophy in his hands.