Four years ago Alexander Zverev suffered the worst moment of his career on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but as he collapsed on the clay in tears after finally becoming a grand slam champion it is now the scene of his greatest success.

In 2022, Zverev fractured two bones and broke seven ligaments when sliding for a ball in a semi-final against Rafael Nadal. In extreme pain, he had leave the court in a wheelchair. Now, after sealing his 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 win over Flavio Cabolli he will remember the Roland Garros showcourt as the venue he finally became a major winner.

Like Andre Agassi, Goran Ivanisevic and Dominic Thiem before him, it took Zverev four finals to avoid becoming what he feared a year ago: “the best player in history without a grand slam”.

Zverev is also the first German grand slam winner since Boris Becker in 1996. And the last time a man from his homeland won the title at Roland Garros – Henner Henkel in 1937 – was so long ago that he was shot in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Both Zverev and Cobolli were their own worst enemies at times during the match, as the unforced errors mounted but it was the favourite who was finally able to celebrate by falling backwards onto the clay in tears.

“I want to say thank you to everyone; we have been through so much,” he said. “We have been through injury, heartbreaks, losses, we have been losers at times in the most important moments. At the end of the day, we are Grand Slam champions now and that is what counts.”

Domestic abuse allegations

In 2024, when Zverev played his last Roland Garros final, his fortnight was overshadowed by a domestic violence trial that was discontinued on the morning of the men’s semi-finals by a criminal court in Berlin.

To say Zverev has not endeared himself to the wider tennis public would be an understatement. Twice he has fought allegations of domestic abuse, by former girlfriend Olya Sharypova in October 2020 and three years later by Brenda Patea. Zverev has vehemently denied the allegations, and settled out of court with the latter while a lengthy investigation into Sharypova’s claims was dropped because of a lack of evidence.

Zverev also has a number of blots on his CV. At the 2022 Mexican Open he was defaulted after hitting the umpire’s chair with his racket, and after promising to self-isolate during Covid he was filmed dancing at a Monte Carlo beach bar. Even in the semi-final he was booed for arguing three times with umpire James Keothavong. It is hard to deny that Zverev attracts controversy.

During this tournament the draw opened up so completely for Zverev that all he had to do was stride through. Jannik Sinner, who was a bigger favourite than Nadal at the height of his powers, succumbed to a combination of heat and illness one game away from reaching the third round. The next round it was Novak Djokovic who was unable to find an answer to Joao Fonseca’s raw power, ensuring that the champion would be a new grand slam winner.

Zverev had an ideal opportunity at the US Open in 2020, but blew a two-set lead against the injured Thiem, six years later he was able to avoid a similar fate.

Although both players were noticeably tight, and played conservatively particularly in the final two sets of the match, there was only one moment where it felt like those issues from New York might resurface.

After breaking back to make it 3-3 in the fourth set, Zverev inexplicably switched to a serve-and-volley tactic that he had not used all tournament and only rarely in his career. He was subsequently broken.

There was a moment just before the fourth-set tie break where it looked as though yet another opportunity to lift a trophy would slip away and he had to call the trainer onto court with a jar of some concoction and also give himself an insulin shot.

But in the decider, it was Cobolli who felt the weight of the occasion, admitting afterwards: “My body left me on the court” as he suffered from cramp in his calf and then quadriceps, leaving him unable to compete in the final set.