Germany’s Alexander Zverev claimed his first Grand Slam title on Sunday, defeating Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in a dramatic five-set final to win the French Open at Roland Garros.
Zverev triumphed 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 in a contest that lasted more than four hours, finally ending years of heartbreak in major finals and securing the biggest title of his career on the clay courts in Paris.
The victory came in Zverev’s fourth Grand Slam final and his second appearance in the French Open final after losing to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in 2024.
The German had also suffered defeats in the 2020 US Open and 2025 Australian Open finals.
After Cobolli missed an overhead on championship point, Zverev fell onto the clay in celebration before rising with tears in his eyes as the crowd applauded the emotional triumph.
“This court is so special to me in so many ways,” Zverev said after lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy. “I’ve had the best moments of my life on this court; I had the worst moment of my life on these courts.”
The 28-year-old referred to the serious ankle injury he suffered during a semifinal clash against Spain’s Rafael Nadal in 2022, when he was forced to leave the court in a wheelchair.
“I lost a Grand Slam final here two years ago but now finally it’s a happy ending,” he added.
With world number one Jannik Sinner struggling during the tournament and Alcaraz withdrawing before the competition because of injury, Zverev took advantage of a rare opportunity to capture a maiden major title.
The German dominated early in the match, taking the opening set comfortably with powerful serving and aggressive baseline play.
Cobolli, appearing in his first Grand Slam final, fought back strongly to level the contest and later forced a deciding set after winning a tense fourth-set tiebreak.
However, the Italian appeared to run out of energy in the fifth set as Zverev broke serve twice to seal victory and claim the 25th title of his professional career.
Cobolli, ranked 14th in the world, was hoping to become the first Italian man since Adriano Panatta in 1976 to win the French Open singles title. Despite the defeat, the 23-year-old enjoyed the best Grand Slam run of his career after reaching a major final for the first time.
Zverev now joins an elite list of players, including Andre Agassi, Goran Ivanisevic and Dominic Thiem, who won their first Grand Slam title in their fourth major final.
