Alexander Zverev wins first grand slam after holding off Cobolli in French Open

• No 2 seed beats Italian 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1

• Wins his first major in his fourth final

Two weeks of excruciating nerves and tension across one of the most chaotic men’s grand slam tournaments in recent memory met an appropriate conclusion as a nerve-racking psychodrama ended with Alexander Zverev, the second seed, lifting his first grand slam title by holding off his own demons to close out a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 win over the 10th seed Flavio Cobolli in the French Open final.

For so long, Zverev had won at every other level: at Masters 1000 events, twice at the ATP Finals and he earned an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2020, but he had lost in all three of his previous major finals. A grand slam, the biggest title of all, had always evaded him. From the moment Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic were bounced from the tournament in consecutive days, and with Carlos Alcaraz absent due to injury, Zverev was clearly the best player remaining in the draw and Cobolli, the world No 14, turned out to be the only top-25 player in his path. It was reasonable to suggest that if he did not take this massive opportunity, he never would. He has finally cleared that bar.

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