Alexander Zverev is in a Grand Slam final for the fourth time. There has never been a greater opportunity to win the long-awaited title at one of the four biggest tournaments. If your nerves hold.
Alexander Zverev is in one for the fourth time Grand Slam final. On Sunday he will face his good friend Flavio Cobolli in the final of the French Open. There has never been a greater opportunity to win the long-awaited title at one of the four biggest tournaments. If your nerves hold.
No, this French Open could not go into the final weekend the “normal” way. Alexander Zverev’s press conference after his semi-final victory over Jakub Mensik had just been announced, and there was an announcement from the legendary stadium announcer Marc Maury over the loudspeakers in the press center and on the facility.
The second semi-final will not take place, said Maury, who became known in Paris for how he always recited all the dates of his French Open victories when Rafael Nadal was introduced and how it became more impressive every year. Matteo Arnaldi could not compete due to a viral illness. His Italian semi-final opponent Flavio Cobolli moved into the final against Alexander Zverev without a fight.
At this year’s French Open, this news was a little inglorious cherry on the cake. After Carlos Alcaraz had to forego his participation, Jannik Sinner had run into a wall of heat and Novak Djokovic had lost for only the second time in his career after a two-set lead.
Zverev is closed
Alexander Zverev has stayed out of the big headlines in the past two weeks. He even seems unusually reserved. In the past he had sometimes made one or two major exaggerations.
Most recently, for example, when he commented during the tournament in Madrid a few weeks ago that he was currently on the same level as Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic and only one behind Sinner. The height of the fall is enormous if you think you are on the same level as two players who have 24 Grand Slam titles like Djokovic or, in the case of Alcaraz, seven Grand Slam titles.
In Paris he expressed himself more defensively, you don’t get any big declarations of war from him. A very popular sentence that he has used since Jannik Sinner’s departure is: “I only look at myself, I can’t control anything else.“An answer that you hear too often in interviews and can be dismissed as a platitude is entirely justified in Zverev’s case.
A final entry without excitement
An easy draw because Sinner and Djokovic are out and Alcaraz didn’t even start? Zverev cannot be influenced. Opponents not in the top 10? He can only play against the players who give him the draw. A Grand Slam title on Sunday would not be worth less just because it was won against Jodar, Mensik and Cobolli and not against Djokovic, Alcaraz and Sinner.
Zverev did his work almost silently during the days of the French Open. There were no skirmishes with referees or opponents, no adventurously long matches, no headlines off the pitch. In between, you got the feeling that there was more talk about Zverev’s grandma, who has been traveling with the Zverev entourage for a few weeks. She was caught in every possible situation by the world’s cameras.
The big chance at the peak of his form?
Zverev’s participation in the final is also a testament to his outstandingly good form over the past few months. He was in four of five possible semi-finals of the Masters tournaments, and even in the final in Madrid. The 2026 season is perhaps the most consistent of his career.
He is the only male player to reach both Grand Slam semi-finals this year and he has suffered just four defeats against players not named Sinner or Alcaraz.
Final against his friend Cobolli
On Sunday, Zverev is the favorite going into the final against his friend Cobolli. The Hamburger won three out of four matches. “I like him very much as a person. We really got to know each other at the Laver Cup in Berlin 2024, I like to talk to him and his father about tennis. He’s just a good person“, says Zverev. Like Zverev, Cobolli managed to make the matches as less strenuous as possible. Even if in one match it looked as if he could still give it away.
In the round of 16 against the American Zach Svajda, Cobolli had already taken a comfortable lead before only narrowly retaining the upper hand in the tiebreak of the fourth set. In the on-pitch interview, the Italian admitted that he “almost peed my pants.“
The 24-year-old cannot be said to have the greatest nerves. The fact that the Italian now has two more days of break could even be an advantage for the Hamburg native. After all, Sunday will be Cobolli’s last match four days ago. It’s quite possible that he’ll lose his rhythm a bit.
Zverev hasn’t shown any nerves so far
For both of them it is the chance for the biggest title of their careers. A title that Zverev has pursued for significantly longer than his opponent Cobolli, who is five years his junior. For both of them it will be a matter of keeping their nerves in check.
Zverev showed no nervousness including the semi-finals. “I don’t want to end up as the best player who never won a Grand Slam“, he said, visibly sobered up after losing the 2025 Australian Open final. On Sunday the chance is there again. It may never get bigger again.