Alexander Zverev Reveals the Key Previous Mistakes he Hopes to Not Repeat in Roland Garros Final

Alexander Zverev is widely tipped to win his maiden Grand Slam at this year’s French Open, having reached the final. The 29-year-old was the leader of the NextGen stars during the rivalry of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer. He then missed three chances of winning a major title and has watched Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz emerge and dominate.

But Zverev has a golden opportunity at Roland Garros to finally end his long wait to triumph. He reached the final of the clay-court Grand Slam following the withdrawal of Alcaraz due to injury, as well as Sinner and Djokovic’s surprise early exit from the tournament in Paris.

The World No.3 is no stranger to winning titles or being under pressure on tour. He has claimed seven ATP Masters 1000, two ATP Finals trophies, and an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo five years ago. But Grand Slams are yet to be included in the German star’s trophy cabinet. He suffered his first Slam final heartbreak against Dominic Thiem.

He had to wait for four years for another opportunity, but lost two sets to one up against Alcaraz at the 2024 Roland Garros final and was beaten in straight sets by Sinner in the Australian Open final last year. However, at this year’s French Open final, he will face Flavio Cobolli, who is ranked World No.15.

This will be the first time Zverev will go against a player ranked outside the Top 10 in a Grand Slam final, which makes him the favorite to win the championship on Sunday (June 7) at the Court Philippe-Chatrier. During his media interview, he reflected on why he lost the three previous major tournament finals:

I think it’s hard to compare, in 2020 I didn’t see myself as a favorite. Honestly, I didn’t see anyone as a favorite. That was exactly the moment when I had real problems with my serve, especially with the second serve. I knew my serve could collapse at any moment, that’s a difference that I notice now, luckily for me. I was two sets up, had a break advantage, served to win the match, and it didn’t happen.

Zverev has dropped just two sets at Roland Garros. One of them came against Jakub Mensik in the semi-finals, but he did well to prevent an upset, winning the match 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 at the Court Philippe-Chatrier. He’s now one win away from becoming the first German player since Boris Becker in 1996 to win a Grand Slam.

Alexander Zverev says Flavio Cobolli is not under any pressure at the French Open final

Alexander Zverev will face his friend Flavio Cobolli in the Roland Garros final. The former leads the latter 3-1 in their head-to-head record on tour. Zverev won their first meeting at the French Open last year in the third round in straight sets and then beat the Italian star again at the Halle Open on grass.

Cobolli posted his first victory over Zverev at the Munich Open before the World No.3 earned his revenge at the Madrid Open, where he eventually finished as runner-up. During the aforementioned press conference, he admitted that Cobolli reaching his first Slam final places less pressure on him when he takes to the court:

I think when you play a Grand Slam final, it’s not that difficult, because it means you reached the best stage in tennis. You have reached the latest stage in tennis, and it’s nice to share it, for sure. Of course, you still try to beat each other, and you still try to win, but that’s okay.

Zverev has already withdrawn from the Stuttgart Open following his run in Paris. Should he win the French Open, there is a probability that he might pull out of the Terra Wortmann Open. However, he will enter this year’s Wimbledon Championships full of confidence, having crashed out in the first round last year.

Also Read: Juan Carlos Ferrero Drops Bomb On Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner Rivalry: “They Compete in Details”