The nearly man has done it at last. After more than a decade of trial and tribulation since his emergence as a teenage prodigy, Alexander Zverev is a Grand Slam champion.
We thought it could never happen; not while Jannik Sinner strode the narrow tennis world like a colossus. But a wrist injury to Carlos Alcaraz opened the door a crack and when Sinner wilted in the second round it was blown wide open. Novak Djokovic went out too and that door was hanging off its hinges: all the big German had to do was stride through.
It was never going to be that simple, not in the final; not with the scar tissue that has accumulated over the years in the Zverev psyche. But after four hours and five sets of nerve-shredding tennis in which Zverev and first-time major finalist Flavio Cobolli both struggled to cope with the magnitude of the occasion, the 29-year-old won 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.
We must acknowledge that for many tennis fans – and those within the game, too – this was a day they hoped would never come. Ever since Sinner’s exit the phrase ‘anyone but Zverev’ has been doing the rounds on Twitter.
The reason is the dual accusations of domestic violence levelled against him. In 2020 a previous partner, Olya Sharypova, made allegations of abuse but did not go to the police. An ATP investigation found insufficient evidence to support the claims.
Then in 2024, during this very tournament, there was a hearing in Germany over claims from Brenda Patea, the mother of Zverev’s daughter Mayla, of physical violence. A settlement was agreed between the parties, with the court stressing this was ‘not a verdict and it is not a decision about guilt or innocence’. Zverev has always maintained his innocence and claimed this as total vindication.
Alexander Zverev won the French Open after beating Flavio Cobolli in five sets in the final
It was an emotional moment for Zverev as he finally became a Grand Slam champion
So where does that leave him? The presumption of innocence must be upheld but it is easy to understand why many tennis fans, especially those who have suffered domestic violence, were disturbed by the sight of Zverev receiving his laurels on Court Philippe Chatrier.
To return to the tennis, this title is the crowning glory of a fine body of work. Circa 2016 Zverev was the next big thing, a 6ft 6in demon server who was freakishly fleet of foot for a man his size, and with an effortless double-handed backhand which Andre Agassi – who had a good one himself – has described as the best of all time. There have been 23 titles plus an Olympic gold and few would have predicted it would take so long for a first major title to materialise.
He choked spectacularly in the 2020 US Open final against Dominic Thiem – who was in the crowd here – and has been banging his head against the Sinner Alcaraz duopoly ever since. He lost narrowly to Alcaraz in the 2024 final here and was demolished by Sinner in last year’s Australian Open final, part of a nine-match losing streak against the Italian.
Many – including this reporter – believe he needs to move away from his essentially conservative gameplan to have a hope of dethroning those two. But this fortnight he has not had to do so.
The old failings were there against Cobolli. His second serve – so much improved since it did for him in that final against Thiem – coughed up seven double faults and when the match was there for Zverev to grasp he retreated into his shell like an escargot. The brutal truth is he was simply not facing an opponent with the requisite class to expose those failings; to reopen that scar tissue.
Indeed, early doors the nerves were all on the other side of the court. Cobolli, the No 10 seed, sprayed errors in a dreadful opening set. This is when an apex predator like Sinner would have brought down the hammer but that is not Zverev’s way, and in his passivity he allowed the 24-year-old Italian time to settle.
Zverev served two double faults to be broken for 4-3 in the second set and at last Cobolli’s vibrant shotmaking emerged. By coming to the net and employing his flamboyant drop shot he exposed Zverev’s deep court positioning.
Having worked his way back into the match, at 30-15, 4-5, Cobolli struck three awful forehands in a row to concede the break and the third set.
As the fourth-set tiebreak approached Zverev, for the first time this tournament, looked to be struggling physically, receiving medical treatment to his knee. Cobolli was the one grasping the nettle and he pulverised a forehand down the line to take the breaker and roared, wild-eyed, towards the crowd.
After his semi-final win, Zverev joked that tennis players’ heads are thought-free vacuums but surely the demons were screaming as he left the court before the fifth set.
But for Cobolli, it was as if that manic celebration had sapped his energy and he utterly subsided. One more wretched Cobolli smash – he struggled overhead all match – and Zverev was home at last.
Now the major milestone has been reached, perhaps he can start to play the kind of assertive tennis his towering frame demands.
If he does then more Grand Slam titles could follow – whether the tennis world likes it or not.
