A chaotic fortnight at the 2026 French Open has finally ended with a historic finish–Alexander Zverev finally claimed his first Grand Slam title, beating Flavio Cobolli 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1.
This tournament will be remembered for many things. It had a historic heat wave in the first week, Jannik Sinner absolutely collapsed while points away from victory, and Novak DJokovic was stunned by a huge comeback from teenager Joao Fonseca. Ultimately, though, its most memorable moment will be its final one. Alexaner Zverev, who suffered a horrific injury in the semifinals in 2022, who could not keep his nerves in check in any of his three previous Major finals, finally got to the finish line.
French Open Final: Alexander Zverev def. Flavio Cobolli 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1
Zverev got off to a blistering start, showing no nerves and hitting huge serves. He dominated rallies from the back of the court, picking apart the Cobolli game. Cobolli didn’t play poorly, but he has somewhat predictable, which let the German’s superior firepower dictate proceedings. The first set zoomed by, 6-1 to Alexander Zverev.
Cobolli settled in after that, finding a rhythm and playing more of his usual style. He kept himself in the second set, then took advantage of a rough service game by Zverev to earn a break. He held the rest of the way, winning the set 4-6.
Unlike in previous pressure situations, Zverev didn’t collapse. He reset well, found his serves again, and pushed his way through the third set. This time, Cobolli played a poor service game, allowing the German to break. Strong serves in the following games protected the lead, and Zverev took the set 6-4.
Fourth Set
There was one final moment when it appeared Zverev might revert to his old nervy self. He dropped serve to open the fourth set, looking rough in doing so. It was reminiscent of the 2024 final against Carlos Alcaraz, though the break was given away with less drama.
Zverev didn’t implode, though. He got back to the line his next service game and stayed solid. A few games later, Cobolli again gave an opening, losing some rhythm while serving up 3-2. He gave the break back, allowing Zverev back into the set. Zverev himself gave up a break again, but broke back for 5-5 with some huge groundstrokes.
Zverev seemed to be struggling physically the last few games, shaking out his legs and running over to the trainer to take some pills in between games at 5-5 (that delay earned him a time violation warning). The German held serve the next game (Cobolli fought with the chair umpire over whether the final ace was in or not), and four points later we were headed to a tiebreak.
Cobolli won the first point of the tiebreak with some great retrieving and an excellent passing shot, but then Zverev took control. He won the next three points and had the tiebreak well in hand. But then Cobolli found his way back on serve, and a Zverev double-fault put the set on Cobolli’s racket. The Italian missed an easy put-away on his first set point, but then hit a massive winner on Zverev’s next service point to claim the set.
Fifth Set
The big question in the final set was Zverev’s fitness. Was something wrong with his legs? Was he cramping or sick? The chair umpire has to know what the pills he took were, but the spectators didn’t. The German looked okay early, opening up two break point opportunities in the first game. Cobolli saved both, but then gave up the break two points later.
After Zverev held easily, Cobolli gave up another break. Zverev then saved break points in the following game–including with an exceptional defensive point–and it finally looked like he was at the finish line. Cobolli held serve once more, but he couldn’t sustain his level for the final two games. Some big serves by Zverev followed by a rough Cobolli service game ended the match and the tournament.
It is a career-defining moment for Alexander Zverev, who no longer has to deal with whether he’s the greatest man to never win a Slam. He finally did it, six years after reaching his first Major final–a match he probably should have won, but he probably won’t care about that missed opportunity now.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images
