Alexander Zverev Explains How Cramping Helped Him Secure Maiden Grand Slam Crown in Paris: “I Was Very Nervous, Very Anxious”

Alexander Zverev did not put extra pressure on himself when top seeds one after the other sent shockwaves with early exits in the recently concluded Roland Garros. But in the final, where it mattered the most, nerves got the better of him.

Up against him was Flavio Cobolli, who lost the first set easily but clawed his way back into the game in the second set. The match, after Cobolli’s fourth-set tie-breaker win, looked like it could have ended in either player’s favor, but Sascha increased his intensity in the fifth set, not allowing his opponent to win more than a game.

There was a lot of emotions. There was a lot of things I had to deal with. I was very nervous. I was a lot of… very up and down throughout the match, and I felt like I was handling the whole Roland Garros situation with a lot of favorites losing extremely well for two weeks, but then I was not handling well in the final. I was very nervous. I was very anxious. I was very up and down, as you said, as a tennis match as well.

Alexander Zverev said during his interview with CNBC International Live

Zverev started cramping during the fourth set and received medical attention from Marcelo Melo, as a result of which he was given a time violation warning. But cramping actually helped Zverev win the match.

In the end of the fourth, I started cramping, which relaxed my mind, actually, which kind of, in a way, helped me because then I my focus shifted from, ‘Oh I got to win I got to win,’ to ‘Okay I’m feeling physically a little bit fatigued.’ I got to manage my physical first before thinking about winning, and I stopped thinking about winning at all, and I just played tennis, which was a massive help.

Alexander Zverev added

Zverev now holds a 4-1 head-to-head record over Cobolli, who reached his career’s first Grand Slam final after receiving a walkover from Matteo Arnaldi in the semifinals. The 29-year-old played his fourth Major final after the 2020 US Open, the 2024 French Open, and the 2025 Australian Open.

Carlos Alcaraz reacts to Alexander Zverev’s French Open win

If the wrist injury had not forced Carlos Alcaraz to withdraw from the French Open, he would have aimed to complete a hat-trick. It was Alexander Zverev whom the Spaniard beat in the 2024 French Open, while last year he came from two sets down to stun Jannik Sinner.

The Italian ace, in the absence of Alcaraz, was considered the heavy favorite to complete the Career Grand Slam, but severe cramps saw him lose his second-round match to Juan Manuel Cerundolo. And a day later, Novak Djokovic also crashed out after failing to capitalize on his 2-0 lead against Joao Fonseca in the third round.

Djokovic’s exit ensured that a player other than him, Alcaraz, or Sinner would emerge triumphant in a Major for the first time since the 2022 French Open. And it was Zverev, whom many backed to finally end his Grand Slam drought, who lived up to their expectations. After his win, Alcaraz took to his Instagram story to congratulate both Zverev and Cobolli.

Congratulations Sascha for the title! You deserve it! Congratulations Flavio for your first GS final! I’m sure there will be many more!

Carlos Alcaraz wrote on Instagram story

Zverev withdrew from the Stuttgart Open, where he lost to Taylor Fritz in the final last year. He has so far made three grass-court finals but has never won a title. At Wimbledon, he has never progressed to the quarterfinals.

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