Alexander Zverev beats Cobolli at Roland Garros to win first Grand Slam title

Maximum respect to Alexander Zverev on winning his first Grand Slam title today.

The German beat Italian Flavio Cobolli to come through in five sets, 6-1,4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 to win this year’s French Open.

Zverev has been knocking on the door for a while now and had lost his three previous Grand Slam finals.

Standing at six foot, six inches, handsome, intelligent, humorous, charismatic, Zverev was expected to deliver on his potential and was marked out to become one of the best in the game.

He came up against the best three men ever to play the game, namely, Federer, Djokovic and Nadal and then had to contend with Alcaraz and Sinner who are expected to dominate the men’s game for the next ten years. 

At 29, many said Zverev’s time had come and gone and that Alcaraz and Sinner had put an end to him ever winning a Slam. He was a good player who won ATP tour titles but never a Slam- an “ almost” man.

That’s not the case now and he can go  on and challenge for other Slams./, confident that he has done it and can do it. Zverev has vastly improved his serve and today, 80 per cent of his first serves were in as opposed to Cobolli’s 50 per cent. 

On his way to winning the French Open, Zvererv took down young guns Rafael Jodar and Jakub Mensik, who will be players to be reckoned with in the years to come. 

Sitting in the Liguanea Club watching him speak in a television interview ten years ago, he showed promise and it was said his star would be on the rise.

He has an elegant and effective game. For a big man he moves extremely well and his forehand is a weapon.

Coached by his father , Zverev always had the talent but was unable to take down the big guys when it mattered.

He will be one to watch at this year’s Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and he has not exhibited any fitness issues.

Ranked Number 3 in the world, Zverev held his own in this tournament which saw Sinner Djokovic, Shelton, Tiafoe, Fonseca falling by the wayside.

Today Zverev looked good up at the net and he should volley a lot more, coming in behind a great serve and a fantastic forehand. 

After 13 years as a professional tennis player, Alexander Zverev is a Grand Slam winner, his patience and talent has paid off. 

When he faced off against his friend Dominic Thiem in  the U.S. Open fInal in 2020, he should have won after being two sets to zero up. That did spring to mind today. He has to know how to  slam the door shut when he gets well in front. 

Today it was good seeing him triumph and lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires.

“ This court is so special to me in so many ways. I’ve had the best moments of my life on this court. I’ve had the worst moment of my life on this court. I was lying in that corner over there four years ago with seven torn ligaments and two fractured bones. I lost a Grand Slam final here two years ago, but now finally it’s a happy ending,” said the maiden Grand Slam winner Alexander Zverev.