Published June 7, 2026
Alexander Zverev finally won his first Grand Slam title with a dramatic five-set victory over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in the French Open final on Sunday.
The second seed won 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1 after four hours and 16 minutes to become the first German man to win a major since Boris Becker at the 1996 Australian Open.
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“This court is special to me in many ways… but it’s finally a happy ending,” Zverev said. He suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the 2022 semifinal against Rafael Nadal on Court Philippe Chatrier, and lost in the 2024 final to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets.
This was Zverev’s fourth Grand Slam final, and his second at Roland Garros after several heartbreaking near misses during his career.
“We have experienced losses and we have been losers at the most important moments,” he said, looking at his team at the trophy ceremony.
“But at the end of the day, we’re Grand Slam champions now and that’s what matters.”
Cobolli, the 10th seed, was aiming to become the first Italian man to win the French Open in 50 years since Adriano Panatta.
The 24-year-old had never previously appeared in a Grand Slam semi-final, let alone a final, after his last-four opponent Matteo Arnaldi withdrew from the tournament due to illness.
“It’s not easy to talk now,” Koboli said after receiving the runners-up trophy from Panatta and before addressing Zverev.
“I’m happy for you, but I’m also sad. I was just one step away, so I feel that. So you achieved your dream, now let me win.”
Both players appeared nervous at various points in the match, especially in the first set when Koboli made many mistakes.
However, Zverev’s vast experience showed that he managed to get over the line in a final set that was much tighter than the scoreline indicated.
The 29-year-old was given a golden opportunity to turn around his Grand Slam run with reigning champion Alcaraz out injured and the surprise early exits of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.
The world No. 3 made 54 unforced errors and wasn’t always in control, but he did enough to finally shed his tag as one of the best players to never win a major.
Zverev has lost three finals, six in the quarterfinals of the tournament, and seven in the semifinals.
His most painful failure came at the 2020 US Open against Dominic Thiem, his first major final when he blew a two-set lead and failed to serve the championship.
Six years later, Thiem, now retired, watched from the stands at Roland Garros as Zverev belatedly put the memory of that fight to rest.
Kobolli’s tense start
Cobolli got off to a nervous start, quickly taking the lead in the 39th minute of the first set, and appeared to be struggling to cope with the situation as he committed 16 unforced errors.
In the second set, she managed to settle into the match by holding serve three times in a row, and in the seventh game, she managed to get a break out of nowhere.
Zverev had never had any trouble serving, but he produced a wild game on break point, featuring two double faults and a wild forehand, before gesturing angrily at the coaching staff.
Coboli began to gain confidence and served out the set to liven up the final.
In the 10th game, Koboli had a better third set, but from 30-0 he lost four points in a row, including a fumble on a forehand that went wide on set point.
The world No. 14, who will break into the top 10 for the first time next week, fought back straight with a break in the first game of the fourth set.
However, they were unable to pull away in the set, and both players were broken twice, including when Cobolli served for four at 5-4.
But the Italian rallied to force a tie-break and sealed the deciding point with a powerful forehand winner on the second set point.
After the start of the final act was delayed after Kobolli left the court, Zverev scored a break in the first game and struck first blood.
Cobolli’s hopes were all but extinguished when he finally missed a breakback point and then dropped serve to fall 0-3.
Zverev fended off three more break points in the fourth game and cruised to an easy victory, but collapsed on the clay in celebration after Koboli scored his second championship point with an overhead.
