A Historic Victory for Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev finally ended his long wait for a first Grand Slam title with a hard-fought five-set victory over Flavio Cobolli in the French Open final. This win marks a significant milestone in his career, as it has taken nearly six years since he missed a golden opportunity to win the US Open against Dominic Thiem. He also lost in Paris to Carlos Alcaraz two years ago and to Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open last year.
Alcaraz was not even in the tournament this time, and Sinner’s early exit made this the perfect opportunity for Zverev to claim his first major title. The tenth seed Cobolli, an unexpected but not entirely unlikely opponent, showed great resilience after a nervous start in his first Grand Slam final. He pushed Zverev all the way before the second seed secured a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 victory.
An emotional and exhausted Zverev collapsed onto the clay when a final overhead from Cobolli landed well long. The two good friends shared a long hug, marking the end of a tense and thrilling match. While it wasn’t as dramatic as the previous year’s final between Alcaraz and Sinner, it was a fitting conclusion to what had been an unpredictable tournament.
The winner will certainly not be universally welcomed. Although Zverev’s tennis credentials merit a major title, he remains a polarising figure due to accusations of domestic violence by two ex-girlfriends. He has strenuously denied these allegations, but Brenda Patea, who is also the mother of his daughter, took her case to court before Zverev reached a financial settlement.
Zverev is the first German man to win a Grand Slam singles title since Boris Becker at the Australian Open 30 years ago. It has been so long since a German won this title that the victor, Henner Henkel, later died at the Battle of Stalingrad. Both players had only lost two sets in reaching the final, but Cobolli had been given a walkover in his semi-final after friend and countryman Matteo Arnaldi came down with an ill-timed stomach virus.
Cobolli has been rising over the past couple of years and reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon last year, but this was a big step up for the 24-year-old. Initially, it seemed too big, with Zverev sweeping through the first set, breaking Cobolli’s serve three times. The Italian struggled to find the balance between consistency and aggression, but he eventually found his rhythm in the second set.
The presence of Thiem, who trailed Zverev by two sets to love in New York in 2020, in the crowd should have been enough to indicate to Cobolli that he could find a way back. He finally applied some pressure to Zverev’s serve at 3-3 and earned his reward, with the 29-year-old firing a forehand wide on break point.
Zverev’s demons did not seem far from the surface as he ranted at his support box, earning a round of booing from the crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier. Cobolli is an easy player to like with his puppyish energy, passion, and varied game, and the crowd were fully behind him as he pulled level.
Cobolli’s weakness comes in shot selection, and two missed forehands at 4-5 in the third set donated what was a hugely significant advantage to his opponent. Still, there was the feeling that Zverev could beat himself, and the fourth set was a case in point. Twice he trailed by a break and twice he fought back, including playing a fine game to break Cobolli when he served for the set at 5-4.
Zverev, who is a Type 1 diabetic, looked to be struggling physically, stretching out his legs, and he consulted the trainer after receiving a package from his team. At 3-1 up in the tie-break, victory was tantalisingly close, but back came Cobolli, and the Italian recovered brilliantly from missing an overhead on his first set point, powering a forehand down the line to keep his chances alive.
That effort seemed to take it out of the Italian, though, and the decider quickly got away from him. Independent readers are independently-minded global citizens. They are not defined by traditional demographics or profiles, but by their attitudes. In today’s increasingly fragmented world, communities value real facts and frank opinions delivered first-hand from a non-biased news brand that they can trust. Armed with information and inspiration, Independent readers are empowered and equipped to take a stand for the things they believe in.
