Alexander Zverev will have his best shot to finally win a Grand Slam at Roland-Garros on Sunday. His final obstacle will be a 24-year-old Italian—just not the one that’s consistently defeated him the last three years.
Zverev, 29, advanced to the French Open final with a four-set win Friday over Jakub Menšík. He will face Flavio Cobolli, No. 11 in the world and the second-ranked Italian, who will make his first Grand Slam after countryman Matteo Arnaldi withdrew from their semifinal due to illness on Friday.
Jannik Sinner is the top-ranked Italian and best player in the world, but he is long gone after he was upset in the third round by Juan Manuel Cerundolo. Sinner is 10–4 against Zverev, and has won their last nine head-to-head matchups—including the 2025 Australian Open final, the last time Zverev made a Grand Slam final.
Sinner has split the last nine Grand Slam titles with Carlos Alcaraz, who won four of the last five matches against Zverev, including the 2024 final at Roland-Garros. But the young Spaniard missed the tournament due to injury. (He will also miss Wimbledon later this month.)
Add Novak Djokovic to the mix, and one of the three has prevailed in every Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2022. But Djokovic was also eliminated in the third round this year by Joao Fonseca.
