Key events
*Cobolli 1-2 Zverev Cobolli nets a backhand for 0-15, but whips a beauty of a forehand down the line, from inside the corner, to make 30-15. And from there, he closes out the hold, an inside-out forehand to the corner securing things, and he’ll feel much better for that.
Cobolli 0-2 Zverev* Down 0-15, Zverev delivers a monstrous T-serve … then another, backed up with an overhead putaway,. A delivery out wide then facilitates a clean-up to the opposite corner, and a high-kicker out wide secures the consolidation. That was definitive.
*Cobolli 0-1 Zverev (*denotes server) A forehand error for 0-15, then a double for 0-30; Cobolli needs to slow himself down, presumably why Zverev opted to receive. And though the Italian takes control of the next rally, he soon goes long on the forehand, meaning he now faces two break points, the first saved when a forehand falls long and the second by a netted backhand, at the end of a much longer rally. Neither man is at it yet, but Cobolli makes advantage thanks to a fine serve which sets up the rally, and the game looks secure when Zverev nets a return … except somehow, it clambers over the tape and back to deuce we go. From there, two massive forehands earn the Italian a second advantage, only for one into the net to scrub it, the another down the line is slightly wide and Zverev has what Jim Courier describes as “a third bite at the apple” – which doesn’t make sense as one might not finish it in one, as would happen to a cherry. Cobolli does find the big serve he needs, but a poor drop allows the German to make advantage again, and this time, when Zverev hits the baseline on the return, the change in bounce causes him to frame his riposte, and that’s the break!
Righto, Cobolli to serve. Ready …play.
Now here comes Zverev, looking less nervous than Cobolli. It’s sunny, so we won’t have our players stuck under a roof playing on wet mud, as happened in yesterday’s men’s doubles final.
Our players, in the locker room together, are ready … and here comes Cobolli. This is the biggest moment of his life: he’ll never have experienced anything like this.
Five weeks ago, Cobolli beat Zverev 3 and 3 in the semis at Munich. It’s true that, subsequently, the outcome was reversed in Madrid, but that was on a much faster court than Chatrier – which is more similar to the one in Germany.
So how’s it going to go? I’d love to say Cobolli in five, but Zverev in four looks the likeliest outcome. His ability to serve himself out of difficult situations will, I think, be the difference.
For my part, I think Cobolli needs to stick Zverev on his bike – rather than just hit winners, he needs to stop his his opponent planting feet. That means plenty of drop-shots – I think he can beat him at net – but also angled balls that break the sidelines and deep balls towards corners.
In terms of how Cobolli beats Zverev, Coach Calv gets in touch to let us know: “Cobolli is a quality player. No stand out weaknesses. He can live with Zverev off the ground and even beat him. The men’s game now they all play the same. There isn’t much tactically. They’re all baseline ball strikers and it’s just whoever hits it better. It’s a grim reality of the game.”
This is a great stat: Zverev is the first player since Mats Wilander in 1988 whose opponent in the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final had never reached that stage before. Or, in other words, this tournament could not have gone more in his favour and, though he’s not played especially close to his best, he’s been more than good enough for those he’s faced.
Almost. Because though, for Zverev, everything he’s worked for and sacrificed is on the line here, he too doesn’t know when he might work his way back to this stage; it might be next month but it might also be never, with neither hard to believe as an outcome. The more balls he retrieves, the more Zverev will have to go for to hit winners – or the more he’ll retreat into safe play – and that is when he can pounce.
Quite a while ago now, Coach Calv Betton – whose charge, Henry Patten, lost in the final of the men’s doubles yesterday – messaged to tell me he’d seen a player. This is always exciting – others of whom I was advised early doors include Felix Auger-Aliassime, Carlos Alcaraz and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard – and he was sure Cobolli, for that was who it was, would develop into a top-10 talent.
Well, he’s there now, and though grand slam finals are hard to come by in the Sincaraz era, I’m not surprised to see him in one. If he plays well today, he can win this match – Zverev’s forehand and volleying, though improved, are weaknesses – and for him, this is almost a free hit.
Also going on:
Preamble
Salut à tous et bienvenue à Roland-Garros 2026 – dernier jour!
Broadly speaking, we invented sport because we wanted to know who was the fastest, the strongest and the best. But that was a while ago now, and the behemoth we nurtured now serves an entirely different purpose: in a fragmented, atomised, divided world, sport is company and in sport is community, a real-time, real-life friend and family. If we’re sad, lonely or bored, we know sport has our back, caring, nurturing and teaching with gentle omnipresence, asking nothing in return. If we’re happy, in company and engaged, we know sport has our back, caring, nurturing and teaching with gentle omnipresence, asking nothing in return.
For these reasons, even the worst sport is better than the best almost everything else – and verily has the French Open 2026 been not that. Over the last fortnight, we’ve had bestowed upon us a succession of barely believable matches and outcomes, our days enriched and our existences affirmed by a raft of compelling stories that remind us how to feel, a joy shared across the world – so too the knowledge that we’ll be talking about what we’ve lived for as long as we live. That is a precious, restorative elixir to carry with us … but now we want the final we and the tournament deserve.
Alexander Zverev has probably spent most of his life assuming that, at some point, he’d become a grand slam champion – let’s be real, his demeanour has never hidden it, one of various reasons many will be hoping he loses today. And though he lost the 2020 US Open final to Dominic Thiem from two sets up, followed by a five-set final to Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 edition of this competition, the feeling persisted that, though he struggled to find his best game when he needed it most, his time would come. Except he then made the 2025 final in Melbourne, endured an exhibition spanking from Jannik Sinner, and something within him changed – how couldn’t it? He was good, but he was significantly less good than the two best, fading as they grew, and there was no sense he could best both in a two-week major.
Which makes this fortnight the opportunity of a lifetime, Alcaraz injured and Sinner beaten by illness. The question now, though, is whether that inspires him or ratchets pressure up to such paralysing degree it prevents him from performing; neither outcome would be surprising.
And, though many seem to consider a final against Flavio Cobolli to be as close to as gimme as you can get, that is not really the case. Of course, Zverev is good enough to win in straight sets, but he faces an opponent who, it’s been clear for several years now, has the talent to challenge the elite. His forehand is a tremendous shot, he returns superbly and moves beautifully, perhaps the quickest player on tour. But more than that, he competes like he means it and, though of course he’ll be nervous, he won’t freeze – partly because he doesn’t carry the weight of expectation, mainly because he’s just one of those many sportsfolk built differently to the rest of us, the warmth of his embrace turning fear into opportunity. He will be ready.
And so will we, caring for ourselves by caring about this, the experience of being us made better by the unique captivation of Roland-Garros 2026. Chauette! On y va!
Play: 3pm local, 2pm BST
