Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts as he plays against Flavio Cobolli of Italy during their men's final match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)Alexander Zverev defeated Flavio Cobolli in the French Open final to finally win his maiden Grand Slam title after a grueling 5-set epic. This was the pair’s 5th match against each other. Zverev had won three of his four career meetings with Cobolli, including a straight-sets victory in the third round in Paris a year ago. But they’ve also split two encounters on clay this season: Cobolli won in straight sets in Munich and Zverev won in straight sets in Madrid. But the German won arguably their biggest encounter on with the final score reading 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1.Zverev was an overwhelming favorite for the title ever since the top-ranked Jannik Sinner struggled in the first week’s heat wave and wasted a two set and 5-1 lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round. A day later, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic was also eliminated. Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time reigning champion, withdrew before the tournament with an injured right wrist.This was also Zverev’s second French Open final, having wasted a lead of two sets to one against Alcaraz in the 2024 championship match. Zverev had an even bigger advantage — two sets to none — in the 2020 U.S. Open final and lost that one, too, to Dominic Thiem. He was also beaten in straight sets by Sinner in the 2025 Australian Open final.Cobolli had never been past a Grand Slam quarterfinal until this week. He was attempting to become the first Italian man to raise the singles trophy at Roland Garros since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago.Cobolli comes from the same tennis club in Rome as Panatta and Panatta has been asked by tournament organizers to present the Coupe des Mousquetaires to the champion to celebrate the anniversary of his 1976 triumph. Both players have dropped only two sets en route to the final.