Paris (France) (AFP) – Alexander Zverev is hoping it will be fourth time lucky as he again targets a first Grand Slam title in Sunday's French Open final, facing Italian 10th seed Flavio Cobolli.
Issued on: 06/06/2026 - 13:04
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The 29-year-old German was widely tipped as a future multiple major champion and the leader of the 'NextGen' to challenge the 'Big Three' of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer almost 10 years ago.He missed his chances in that era, then watched as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz emerged to mop up 11 Slam titles between them.But Zverev has a golden opportunity at Roland Garros to finally end his wait to triumph at tennis' top table, after making serene progress in Paris with an injured Alcaraz sidelined as Sinner and Djokovic suffered surprise early exits from the tournament.Cobolli called the wide-open men's draw the "chance of my life" earlier this week, but Zverev has been cautious in avoiding saying something similar, preferring to insist he is focusing on one match at a time."The only thing I can control is that I play good tennis," said Zverev."I mean, I will try to show my level. I will try to do the right things. Yeah, that's the only thing that matters to me."The world number three is no stranger to winning big titles, having won seven Masters events, two ATP Finals trophies and Olympic gold in Tokyo five years ago.Zverev's first Slam final ended in heartbreak as he blew a two-set lead at the 2020 US Open to lose to Dominic Thiem.He had to wait four years for another opportunity, but lost from two-sets-to-one up against Alcaraz at Roland Garros, and was then seen off in straight sets by Sinner in last year's Australian Open final.Zverev clear favouriteUnlike in those three matches, though, Zverev will be a clear favourite when he steps onto Court Philippe Chatrier to take on Cobolli.The pair are friends off the court, while Zverev holds a 3-1 winning record against the Italian on it.Zverev took their first meeting at Roland Garros last year in the third round in straight sets and then beat Cobolli again in Halle on grass.But the Italian posted his first victory over Zverev in Munich earlier in the 2026 clay-court season, before the three-time Grand Slam runner-up got his revenge in Madrid.
