Alexander Zverev won the French Open to secure his first career Grand Slam title, defeating Italian Flavio Cobolli in a dramatic five-set final. He claimed the victory with a score of 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1, putting an end to the label of the best player on tour without a major championship. As the Roland Garros champion, Zverev collected INR 31 Crore (approx. $3.21 million) in prize money.
This was Zverev's fourth Grand Slam final and his second at Roland-Garros- right back in 2022, he suffered a major injury on clay court and four years later he became the first male German player to win the French Open in the Open Era.
Sascha entered the tournament as a top title favourite after the early exits of top seeds like Jannik Sinner and Novak
Djokovic, and Alcaraz missing the tournament for his injury concerns. Although he dominated the whole tournament, his semifinal against Jakub Mensik was s his hardest challenge before the final, testing his stamina in a physical four-set battle.
Zverev took an early 6-1 lead in less than 40 minutes. He leaned into aggressive groundstrokes and forced Cobolli into backhand rallies in the final. But Cabolli made unforced errors to a dramatic return in the fourth set. Zverev easily won the longest rallies with his focus and forced Cabolli to make errors. At 29 years old, Zverev became the seventh-oldest man in tennis history to win his first major.
Finally, a happy ending: Zverev expresses his emotions after winning French Open
Firsts are always special. Zverev’s near-victory situations have been a lot in his career to the point people started labelling him as a better player with no grand slams. He suffered a severe ankle injury in 2022, during the French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal. The German tore several lateral ligaments in his right foot after rolling his ankle, forcing him to retire from the match and ending his 2022 tennis season. It is just four years later that he makes a historic win on the same clay court, claiming his first career grand slam.
“This court is so special to me in so many ways. I’ve had the best moments of my life on this court. I had the worst moment of my life on these courts. I was lying in that corner over there four years ago with seven broken ligaments and two fractured bones. I lost a Grand Slam final here two years ago, but now, finally, it’s a happy end,” Sascha said after winning his trophy.
Alexander Zverev lost 3 Grand Slam singles finals before winning his first major title at the 2026 French Open.
