Zverev claims maiden Grand Slam at French Open
The victory marks the first time a German man has won a major title since Boris Becker in 1996, following a tournament defined by the early exits of top-ranked contenders.
Alexander Zverev secured his first Grand Slam title at the French Open on Sunday, defeating Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in a dramatic five-set final on Court Philippe Chatrier. The second seed won 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1 in a match that lasted four hours and 16 minutes, ending a long period where the 29-year-old was considered one of the leading players without a major championship.
Zverev’s victory makes him the first German man to win a major tournament since Boris Becker claimed the 1996 Australian Open title. The win comes in his fourth Grand Slam final and second at Roland Garros, following several previous near misses in major events. Cobolli, the 10th seed, became the first Italian man to reach the French Open final in 50 years, though he had never previously advanced to a Grand Slam semi-final.
The tournament landscape was significantly altered by the early exits of top-ranked players, including reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic. Djokovic’s quest for a record 25th Grand Slam title ended in the third round when he was defeated by Brazil’s Joao Fonseca on Friday, 29 May 2026. These absences provided Zverev with a different field configuration compared to previous major finals he had contested.
Cobolli’s path to the final was aided by the withdrawal of his last-four opponent, Matteo Arnaldi, due to illness. The 24-year-old Italian struggled with nerves in the opening set, committing 16 unforced errors in 39 minutes. However, he stabilised his performance to take the second set and forced a tie-break in the fourth, where he secured a break-back point and served out the set to level the match.
Zverev, who made 54 unforced errors during the contest, demonstrated greater experience in the deciding set. He broke Cobolli’s serve in the first game and capitalised on a missed break-back point by the Italian to slip 3-0 ahead. Zverev held off three break points in the fourth game of the final set before closing out the match on his second match point. Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, whom Zverev lost to in the 2020 final, was present in the stands to witness the victory.
Following the win, Zverev will climb into the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time. The victory concludes a period where the German player had lost in six Slam quarter-finals and seven semi-finals, including a heartbreaking defeat in the 2020 US Open final where he blew a two-set lead.
