There’s light at the end of every tunnel. Alexander Zverev has been searching for that light for six years. And today, with the Coupes des Mousquetaires in his hands, he can finally check that goal off his list.

With all the top names out of the French Open early this year, the men’s singles final was a land of opportunity for both the German and the Italian. However, when the match started, only one of them seemed to grab hold of the opportunity as Zverev took an early lead. The second seed was his usual best from the baseline, whereas the Italian was making unforced errors.

Zverev got a double break early and closed the first set within half an hour, making the audience believe that this could be a short final. However, true to his explosive nature, Cobolli responded in the second set. In a small period where Zverev dropped his intensity, the Italian broke through in the sixth game, and then held on to his serve to win the set 6-3.

With the match one set apiece, it was a game of cat and mouse between both players in the third set. But it was Zverev who had the upper hand because of his superior first serve. The German lost only one point behind his first serve and at 5-4 used the scoreboard pressure to break Cobolli one more time to take the third set 6-4.

However, Alexander Zverev’s joy was short-lived as he again had a losing service game to open the fourth set, and Cobolli had gone 3-1 up in no time. The German used all of his clay-court prowess to turn the tide once more, tying the set at 3-3. The Italian broke again and had an opportunity to serve for the fourth set at 5-4. The Italian tried to engage in baseline rallies with Zverev during the pressure points, which became his undoing as Zverev hit two cracking backhand winners to break the serve.

At 5-5, the German was visibly feeling the nerves as he received a time violation warning for taking too long to make his first serve while holding his leg a bit. His team member, Marcelo Melo, was seen giving the German medication that seemed to help him, who was starting to struggle with his physical condition, an action that was criticized by some commentators, such as Brad Gilbert. Zverev, however, composed himself and won the service game, which he finished with an ace, which was a point of contention between Cobolli and the chair umpire as the Italian thought the serve had gone out. Now at 5-6 in the fourth set, it was all on the Italian to hold his serve to take the match to a tiebreak.

However, Cobolli started strong, hitting an ace to go 15-0 up, followed by a missed shot by Zverev to go by 30-0. The next point saw a tremendous bit of net play by the Italian, who brought Zverev to the net with a drop shot. The German reached and launched a cross-court forehand, but Cobolli hit a tremendous volley to win the point. Another well-placed serve took the match into a tiebreak.

Two of the first three points in the tiebreak saw long baseline rallies, and one missed shot from Cobolli, which meant Zverev went 2-1 up. However, Cobolli rallied back once more, and the tiebreak stood at 3-3 at the changeover with the match in the balance. With Zverev making a double fault, Cobolli had a 5-4 lead, and two serves coming his way to take the match to a fifth set. The Italian hit a high-risk dropshot winner but missed a smash at the net to hand the advantage back to Zverev, who still faced a set point 5-6. But the Italian hit a thunderous forehand winner to make up for that miss, and take the match to a fifth set.

The final set began after Cobolli took a bathroom break and came back to the court with a pep in his step. The performance was not on par with the attitude, as Zverev broke in the first game to take an early advantage. The German made a couple of double faults in the next game, showing his nerves, but was able to hold for a 2-0 lead. In another decisive moment in the set, he broke Cobolli once more to go 3-0 up with the advantage of a double break.

Cobolli was not going to let the match drift away as he took advantage of some poor serving from Zverev to have multiple break points. However, the Italian missed some key shots, and Zverev showed his composure to hold serve and take a 4-0 lead. The match had gone past the four-hour mark, and the Italian was starting to show that it was getting to him, as he was screaming on the court in frustration after every missed shot.

The Italian held to love, but at 4-1, Zverev was two service holds away from his dream. Coming from the changeover, the Italian raised his hands to charge the Philippe Chatrier crowd, who obliged. However, nothing flustered Zverev, who remained rock-solid behind his serve, winning the game and being one game away from shedding the tag of “the best player to never win a Slam”.

Two missed shots in the Cobolli’s service game saw the German go up 30-0, and then a double fault gave him three match points. Cobolli saved the first with a net shot. However, the wait was over for Zverev as Cobolli missed yet another overhead smash in the next point, handing him the victory.

Records Broken by Alexander Zverev as German Wins the French Open

Having waited for so long for a Grand Slam, it was obvious that Alexander Zverev would break a lot of records after having won his maiden Major at the French Open. This was the Germans’ 125th victory at a Grand Slam, showing how consistent he has been at the Majors over the years without crossing the line. This was his 41st main draw appearance in a Grand Slam, which was the second longest taken by a player to win a Slam in terms of draw appearances after Goran Ivanisevic’s win at Wimbledon in 2001.

In terms of a resume, Zverev now has a Grand Slam in addition to his Masters 1000 titles, Tour Finals, and the gold at the Tokyo Olympics. The German joins the trio of Novak Djokovic, Andre Agassi, and Andy Murray, who have previously achieved the same.

Finally, it was there for all to see that the draw opened up for the second seed with the likes of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic having early exits, and Carlos Alcaraz not being at the tournament due to injury. However, the German showed that he always deserved a Grand Slam and, fittingly, lifted the trophy after winning a five-set epic.