Slam victory emotional for Zverev
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PARIS -- It all came rushing back to Alexander Zverev when he was lying on his back on the French Open's center court, his hands covering his face, and sobbing on Sunday as he realized that he had -- finally -- become a Grand Slam champion.
It was the same court where he twisted his right ankle and crumpled to the ground, wailing in agony before being pushed off on a wheelchair during a semifinal match against Rafael Nadal in 2022.
The same court where he wasted a lead of two sets to one against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 championship match.
"All the emotions came out, because this court is very, very special to me. It's special in a very positive way, but also special on the negative way, because I had some of the toughest moments of my life here," Zverev said.
"I was laying on this court with an injury that I didn't know if I would ever come back from. I lost a Grand Slam final here, so all of those memories for me, they're not wiped out. They're still with me, but this one will beat all of them."
After so many missed opportunities, Zverev is no longer one of the best players never to win a major title.
In his fourth major final, Zverev beat Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 for the French Open title.
It was a unique opportunity for Zverev without Jannik Sinner or Alcaraz across the net and the third-ranked German took full advantage on the red clay of Roland Garros.
When Cobolli missed an overhead on the second championship point after more than four hours of the five-set encounter, Zverev joined an elite group of players that captured their first major in their fourth final: Eight-time major champion Andre Agassi, 2001 Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanisevic and 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem.
Then when Zverev finally got his hands on the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy, he turned it upside down, held it between his legs and then hoisted it above his head with both arms as he let out a loud roar.
"This trophy for me is very important because if I would have lost this one, this self-belief would have gone down a lot," Zverev said. "But now that I've won it, I feel like I can do it again."
No Sinner or Alcaraz
Zverev had been an overwhelming favorite for the title ever since the top-ranked 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.
Alcaraz, the two-time reigning champion, withdrew before the tournament with an injured right wrist.
Zverev also lost a lead of two sets to none in the 2020 U.S. Open final to Thiem and was beaten in straight sets by Sinner in the 2025 Australian Open final.
It was the 25th title of Zverev's career.
First Slam final
The 14th-ranked 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 did and Panatta was asked by tournament organizers to present the trophy to celebrate the anniversary of his 1976 triumph.
The honors, however, went to Zverev.
Andreeva prevails
Bent over with her hands covering her face, her knees getting dirtied on the red clay court, Mirra Andreeva was celebrating -- processing might be the more appropriate word -- how she had finally overcome "so many demons inside" that came with being a teenage tennis phenom.
After bursting onto the scene at 15, Andreeva became a Grand Slam champion at 19 when the Russian ended the run of 114th-ranked Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the women's final on Saturday.
"I've done a lot of visualizations before. Not just this tournament, but I've had dreams, I've had a lot of thoughts on how it's going to happen, if it's going to happen, when it's going to happen, where," Andreeva said, still hardly breathing as she talked quickly in true teenage style. "The feeling in real life is so much better than in your dreams.
"I can call myself a Grand Slam champion," Andreeva added.
The biggest challenges for Andreeva have not been on the court -- she already has one of the best attacking baseline games in the sport -- it's been the mental side. And her stubbornness.
"Her attitude is difficult," said Conchita Martinez, Andreeva's coach and a former Wimbledon champion. "You tell her something, and maybe she's not open to listening. … When she works hard and when she listens and she does everything, she has no limits."
Andreeva acknowledged as much during the trophy ceremony.
"I know I can be a tough cookie sometimes and it's pretty hard to put up with me," Andreeva said.