Alexander Zverev claimed his long-awaited first grand slam title, after defeating Flavio Cobolli in the deciding set of a thrilling French Open final.

The German, a three-time beaten major finalist, finally got over the line at Roland-Garros, prevailing 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 in just under four-and-a-half hours of play on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Not since the 2022 US Open had a men's singles final been contested by two players seeking their maiden major crown.

Zverev landed the first blow by breaking in the opening game, and doing so again in games five and seven to wrap up the first set in just 35 minutes.

The second seed looked set for a 4-3 lead in a tight second set. Yet a forehand into the net at 30-0 up handed the momentum to Cobolli, who subsequently broke on his way to levelling the final.

Both players were solid on serve in the third set, putting Zverev 5-4 to the good. The German then pounced on his opponent's lapse from 30-0, reeling off five straight points to move two sets to one ahead.

Cobolli broke early to lead 3-1 in the fourth. He then immediately responded to Zverev's break back to lead 5-3, but found himself 6-5 behind after the 29-year-old came roaring back with victory in sight.

Nevertheless, the first-time major finalist dug deep to force a tie-break, in which he recovered from seeing one set point go begging to eventually force a fifth set for the fourth time in six men's singles finals at Roland-Garros.

Zverev had appeared to be struggling with cramp during the latter stages of set four. Yet he found another gear with his opponent beginning to flag, racing away with the deciding set, and collapsing to the clay when Cobolli fired long at 15-40 in the final game.

THE WAIT IS OVER#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/i1PL0lkgAf

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2026

The waiting is finally over for Zverev

No player in the Open Era has endured a longer wait for grand slam glory. Zverev's tally of 125 matches on route to his first major title is comfortably the most.

Meanwhile, only Goran Ivanisevic (48) has taken more main-draw appearances to lift such silverware (41), and only Novak Djokovic (12) required more than Zverev (11) to get the job done in Paris.

The first German men's singles champion at Roland-Garros in the Open Era, his journey to doing so has been one of a kind – and could have been so much simpler.

Zverev saw match point go begging during the tie-break of his first major final at the 2020 US Open against Dominic Thiem, who subsequently recovered to break his heart.

It was then on Court Philippe-Chatrier that he suffered that horrifying ankle injury during his 2022 semi-final with Rafael Nadal, as well as losing to Carlos Alcaraz from two sets to one up in the final two years later.

Yet despite getting pegged back twice, he was not to be denied this time around – becoming only the fourth player since 1988, after Andre Agassi, Andy Murray and Djokovic, to claim tournament victory at all four main ATP levels (Grand Slam, Masters, Tour Finals and Olympics).

It also marks the return of a German men's singles player to the major winners' circle for the first time since Boris Becker's Australian Open triumph in 1996.