Zverev defeats Cobolli in five sets to win Roland Garros and his first Grand Slam title at age 29

The final hurdle cleared

Alexander Zverev has finally captured his first Grand Slam title, overcoming Flavio Cobolli in a five-set Roland Garros final on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The 29-year-old German, ranked world number three, had lost his three previous major finals — the 2020 US Open, Roland Garros 2024, and the 2025 Australian Open — and carried the unwanted label of the best active player without a Grand Slam. On Sunday he shed that burden, collapsing onto the clay in tears after Cobolli's final shot sailed out.

This court is very special to me in many ways. I have lived the best and worst moments of my life on this court. Four years ago, in that corner I tore seven ligaments and fractured two bones in my ankle.

The reference was to his 2022 Roland Garros semi-final against Rafael Nadal, when a gruesome ankle injury ended his tournament and sidelined him for seven months. Zverev also recalled losing the 2024 final here to Carlos Alcaraz. "Now, finally, it's a happy ending," he said.

How the match unfolded

Zverev raced through the opening set 6-1 in 39 minutes, breaking Cobolli's serve three times. The Italian, appearing in his first Grand Slam final after never having advanced past a quarter-final, settled in the second set and broke for 4-3 before levelling the match at 6-4. The third set stayed on serve until Zverev broke in the tenth game to take it 6-4.

The fourth set delivered the match's highest drama. Zverev struggled with cramps and visible discomfort, while Cobolli forced a tie-break and won it 7-5 to push the final to a deciding fifth set. But the German regrouped emphatically, racing to a 4-0 lead with two breaks of serve and closing out the set 6-1.

A tournament of surprises

Zverev entered Roland Garros as the favourite after a series of shocks cleared his path. Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz withdrew before the tournament with an injury. World number one Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic both suffered early eliminations in the first week. Zverev handled the pressure, posting solid wins over Spanish prospect Rafa Jódar in the quarter-finals and Czech Jakub Mensik in the semi-finals.

Cobolli reached the final after his semi-final opponent withdrew due to illness. The 24-year-old Italian, ranked 14th, had beaten Zverev on clay in Munich in April but could not repeat the feat. Italy's wait for a male Roland Garros champion extends to 50 years, since Adriano Panatta's 1976 title. Panatta was present to hand over the trophy.

A career validated

Zverev now holds 25 career titles, including seven Masters 1000 trophies, but none carry the weight of this Roland Garros crown. He becomes the first German man to win a Grand Slam since Boris Becker in 1996, and the first German to triumph in Paris — something Becker himself never achieved. The victory is his first title of the 2026 season, during which he has compiled 35 wins, 20 on clay.

I don't want to go down in history as the best player without a Grand Slam.

That fear, expressed earlier in his career, is now retired. Cobolli committed 65 unforced errors to Zverev's 54, and the Italian's resistance faded in the fifth set after nearly four and a half hours of sprinting along the baseline. Zverev, by contrast, found his strongest tennis when the trophy was within reach, firing four clean winners in a single game during the fourth set to stay alive.