PARIS, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Alexander Zverev ended his long wait for a Grand Slam title as the second seed survived a five-set battle against Italy's Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 in the French Open men's singles final on Sunday.
Zverev, 29, who had lost his previous three major finals, became the first German man in the Open Era to win the singles title at Roland Garros.
"Now no matter what happens, I will always be a Grand Slam champion, and nobody can take that away from me," Zverev said. "Maybe my mind will just be a little bit calmer when I play a final."
Zverev had previously lost the finals at the 2020 US Open, the 2024 French Open and the 2025 Australian Open. He had also experienced one of the toughest moments of his career on Court Philippe-Chatrier in 2022, when he suffered a serious ankle injury during his semifinal against Rafael Nadal.
Facing 24-year-old Cobolli, who was appearing in his first major final, Zverev made a dominant start by taking the opening set 6-1. But the 10th seed gradually found his rhythm and responded in the second set to level the match.
Zverev regained the advantage by taking the third set 6-4, before Cobolli refused to go away in a dramatic fourth set.
The Italian broke early on, but Zverev hit back in the sixth game to make it 3-3. Cobolli immediately struck again and served for the set at 5-4, only for his opponent to break back and force a tiebreak.
Cobolli rallied from 3-1 down in the tiebreak and moved ahead 6-4 after a Zverev double fault. Although Cobolli missed a golden opportunity at the net on his first set point, he sealed the set with a brilliant forehand winner down the line to send the final into a decider.
"I just closed my eyes," Cobolli joked when recalling the crucial moment.
After seeing another lead disappear in a Grand Slam final, Zverev avoided a repeat of his previous heartbreaks. He broke twice early in the deciding set and saved two break points in the fourth game before closing out the victory on his second championship point.
The newly crowned champion admitted he was struggling both physically and mentally late in the fourth set.
"I was cramping. I was struggling physically a little bit, even though I don't think the cramps were physical. I think they were more mental," he said.
"I was very tightened up. I was very emotional. I was a bit unstable also in the fourth set."
However, Zverev said those difficult moments eventually helped him play more freely.
"I actually think that the cramps helped me in a way. I think that I let go. I kind of hit my shots a bit more," he added.
Cobolli's runner-up finish capped a breakthrough campaign for the Italian, who is set to break into top 10 for the first time following his remarkable run in Paris.
"Sascha [Zverev] is here since ten years, and he made a lot of great results. I think he deserves a Grand Slam for what he did in his career," Cobolli said.
Zverev became the second first-time Grand Slam singles champion crowned at Roland Garros this year, after Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva triumphed in the women's draw on Saturday.
After the win, Zverev collapsed onto the court where he had experienced both heartbreak and pain.
"This court is very, very special to me," he said. "I was laying on this court with an injury that I didn't know if I will ever come back from. I lost a Grand Slam final here. All of those memories for me, they're not wiped out. They're still with me, but this one will beat all of them." ■
