French Open: Zverev defeats Cobolli and wins first Grand Slam title of his career

Abayomi Ademola

Alexander Zverev finally captured the Grand Slam title that had long eluded him, defeating Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 in a tense French Open final on Sunday to claim his first major crown.

The victory ended a streak of three previous defeats in Grand Slam finals and made the German the first player, apart from Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, to win a major singles title since 2023.

The second seed looked in complete control after racing through the first set and regaining the lead in the third, but nerves threatened to derail his bid for glory. Cobolli fought back impressively, forcing a deciding set after winning a dramatic tie-break in the fourth set, while Zverev battled cramps, double faults and mounting pressure on the Philippe-Chatrier court.

However, the 29-year-old responded strongly in the final set, breaking twice to open a 3-0 lead before sealing the victory when Cobolli faded. When the Italian sent a long smash on match point, an emotional Zverev collapsed to the clay in celebration after finally achieving the breakthrough that many had predicted throughout his career.

For Cobolli, the defeat marked the end of a remarkable run in the tournament that saw the Italian reach his first Grand Slam final. Despite falling short, the 24-year-old underlined his growing status on the ATP Tour with a series of impressive performances in Paris and showed why many consider him one of the sport’s rising stars.

Reflecting on his career, Cobolli said: “I started playing when I was young and I never expected these kinds of results. Now that I’m here, I just want to make something special possible. For me, it’s not finished, it’s just the beginning.” The Italian is expected to rise further up the rankings after the best Grand Slam performance of his career.