At Roland Garros, Alexander Zverev finds freedom with his first Grand Slam victory

The prodigiously talented Alexander Zverev won his first Grand Slam title at the age of 29 on Sunday, defeating Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in a thrilling five-set final that lasted four hours and 16 minutes.

In his fourth Grand Slam final, Zverev finally crossed the finish line that had eluded him for years. Injury-prone, heavy with anticipation and often criticized for letting his emotions get the better of him on court, Zverev’s face was a picture of relief after winning the final point.

At 29, he has finally fulfilled the destiny many predicted for him since he burst onto the tour as one of tennis’ brightest prospects.

On Sunday, Zverev found more than a trophy. He found freedom.

Whatever people say about him now and in the future, they can no longer discuss Alexander Zverev without calling him a Grand Slam champion.

“If you call me the worst player to win a Grand Slam, I don’t care now. If someone thinks that, that’s fine,” Zverev said after the match.

“Now, whatever happens, I will always be a Grand Slam champion. No one can take that away from me. Maybe it gives me a little freedom. Maybe my mind will be just a little bit calmer when I play the final,” he added.

ROLAND GARROS FINAL: ZVEREV WINS IN 5 SETS

With the sun shining over Court Philippe-Chatrier, Zverev struck first. He broke Cobolli with a backhand that pinned the Italian’s orange-rimmed racket before sealing the opening set with a forehand winner down the middle. However, Cobolli refused to disappear.

The Italian fired up and produced a series of stunning break wins in the seventh game of the second set. Cobolli, backed by a center court crowd that created a footballing atmosphere for the former AS Roma academy player, leveled the match with a confident possession. But the pace did not last.

Deep into the third set, Cobolli forced a forehand into the net to hand Zverev a set point and the German quickly restored his advantage, aided by another costly unforced error from his opponent.

Just when it became clear that Zverev had one hand on the trophy, old doubts resurfaced.

The passive spell broke him twice in the fourth set. Although he fought his way back to level at 5-5, he faltered in the tiebreak when Cobolli unleashed a forehand racket to force a deciding set.

Defeats in his previous three Grand Slam finals – the US Open in 2020, the French Open in 2024 and the Australian Open in 2025 – have raised nagging questions about whether Zverev will ever win the biggest title of all.

For years he was considered a future Grand Slam champion. On Sunday, June 7, he finally became one.

The final stages lacked the breathtaking quality of last year’s epic between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, but Zverev didn’t care. Drawing on all his experience, he pushed forward in the decider and never looked back, reeling off key matches to secure the title he had been chasing for so long.

When the final point was won, Zverev collapsed on the clay and sobbed. After taking this moment to himself, he finally got up to hug his close friend Cobolli before immersing himself in the applause of the stadium that brought him joy, sorrow and pain in equal measure.

“This trophy is very important to me. If I lost it, my confidence would drop a lot. But now that I’ve won it, I feel like I can do it again,” Zverev said.

For the first time in his career, the burden was gone. Alexander Zverev was finally a Grand Slam champion.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

June 8, 2026 10:05 AM IST