Zverev wins first Grand Slam title at French Open after epic final

Alexander Zverev turned the site of his most painful Roland Garros memory into the stage for his greatest victory, outlasting Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 to win his first Grand Slam title. The 29-year-old German did it in four hours and 16 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier, closing the final with the composure that had eluded him in three previous major finals.

The win completed a long and bruising climb. Zverev had already lost Slam finals at the 2020 US Open to Dominic Thiem, the 2024 French Open to Carlos Alcaraz and the 2025 Australian Open to Jannik Sinner, making him only the eighth man in the Open Era to lose his first three major finals before finally breaking through in his fourth. He arrived in Paris with two ATP Finals titles, seven ATP Masters 1000 crowns and an Olympic gold medal in singles, but the missing major remained the defining gap in his record.

That gap had been widened at Roland Garros four years ago, when Zverev badly rolled his right ankle in a semifinal against Rafael Nadal and retired while trailing 6-7 (8), 6-6 after three hours and 13 minutes. He was wheeled off the court and later underwent surgery, a scene that made his return to the same stadium all the more charged. In his trophy speech, Zverev said the court held “the best moments of my life on this court” and “the worst moment of my life on these courts,” and recalled being out there with “seven broken ligaments and two fractured bones.”

The final suggested that this was more than emotional redemption. Zverev did not cruise through the match, but he kept solving problems as the pressure rose, taking the opening set 6-1, losing the second, edging the third and then surviving a fourth-set tiebreak before taking control again in the fifth. The pattern pointed to a player who has not just endured more pain, but learned how to stay disciplined inside a long, unstable match at the sport’s highest level.

The title also carried unusual historical weight for German tennis. ATP said Zverev became the third German man to win a major in the Open Era. Reports added that he was the first German men’s singles champion at Roland Garros since 1937 and the first German man to win a major since Boris Becker at the 1996 Australian Open.

The reaction was immediate. Nadal congratulated Zverev and said the victory was well deserved after his hard work and perseverance. Alcaraz also sent his best wishes after losing to Zverev in the 2024 final, while Billie Jean King praised the result and noted that Zverev became the first man with type 1 diabetes to win a major. Rod Laver saluted both finalists for giving everything, as Roland Garros closed on a win that finally matched Zverev’s résumé.