Key events We’re almost ready for the presentation, to be made by Adriano Panatta – the last Italian man to win Roland Garros, in 1976. The last German, before Zverev, was Henner Henkel in 1937. If only he who has suffered can no true joy, Zverev might just be the happiest man ever to live – he’s certainly the happiest alive now, and what a feeling that must be. We think the extremes of emotion we experience watching all this are intense, because they are, but the extent of what the players go through is unfathomable to anyone but them, and even then. When Zverev lost to Sinner in that Aussie Open final, it seemed like something inside him left, and had things not worked in his favour here, I doubt he’d have got to this point. But now they did and he has, where can he take it from here? And hold tight Flavio Cobolli. It all got a bit much for him at the end, but he’s a fantastic player with lots of improving yet to do, and I can’t wait to see how he progresses. Alexander Zverev is a major champion and no one can ever take that away from him. He made the hardest possible work of it, but he’s there now, the first German man to win a major since Boris Becker took the Aussie Open in 1996. He races up to his box and celebrates with his people, who’ve absorbed every hit with him, his brother, his dad, his gran – his mum is walking the dog somewhere close by – and they’re going to have a night tonight. Alexander Zverev (2) beats Flavio Cobolli (10) 6-1 4-6 6-4 (5)6-7 6-1 Cobolli butchers another overhead AND ZVEREV HAS DONE IT! He collapses on to the clay, tears instant, and all that agony, all that fear, all that shame … gone. Alex Zverev is a grand slam champion! Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 1-5 Zverev A Cobolli backhand hits the tape … and clambers over the net, dying – one championship point saved… *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 1-5 Zverev Cobolli nets a drop, goes long with a backhand, double-faults; Zverev has three championship points! The moment he thought he’d never experience is almost his… Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 1-5 Zverev* Cobolli goes wide with a forehand down the line, but when Zverev doesn’t do enough with his +1, he nails a backhand cross, the crowd singing his name. A service winner follows, then an overhead is good enough, just, and at 40-15, he’s five points from victory … make that four, Cobolli netting a backhand, and it’ll take the mother and father of all bottles for Zverev not to see this out. *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 1-4 Zverev Cobolli rushes through a love hold and is on the board in the decider, but then calls out the physio to go at his right quad – last time it was the calf – and can he find a break? Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 0-4 Zverev* If one of the greatest servers in the history of the game can’t get it done from here, we’ll be talking about perhaps the greatest choke of all time. And he does find himself down 0-15 then, at 15-all, he carelessly nets a mid-court backhand, under little pressure – well, under little pressure from hid opponent but subsiding under that he’s applying to himself. Gosh, and he then does the same again, meaning he now faces two break points, saving the first then charging about the back to stick in the second, eventually having to admit defeat when offering up a simple overhead … which Cobolli dumps! He’s running out of gas, I fear, but with Zverev up advantage, a double follows, the second delivery weak; if he misses first go, he doesn’t trust himself to land anything decent … but two fine points then take him to 4-0, and the Roman is running out of road. *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 0-3 Zverev “FUCK!” screams Cobolli as he wallops a backhand long, getting lucky next point when he makes a mess of two chances to pass, both men at the net; Zverev volleys into it. But Cobolli isn’t enjoying this now, another error making 15-30, and when a backhand flies wide, the German has two points for a double break, and surely, even by the standard, two points for his first grand slam; my fingers have gone so cold I can barely type. Cobolli, though, saves the first in superb style, a tremendous angled volley from below the level of the net far too good … but then he’s caught at it, Zverev passing him, and he’s three games away from making every unit of pain he’s ever experienced completely irrelevant. Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 0-2 Zverev* A double does nothing to improve Zverev’s state of mind and, as we said at the start, there really is nothing like this, nothing whatsoever – all around the world, people are compelled by what we’re seeing, and for the time we have left, nothing else matters, not our problems, not or relationships, not our fears. We’re all in it together, and when Zverev opens the game with two doubles, bile rises in us all. But it’s soon 30-all … then an over-cooked forehand hands over break-back point, the germans yes but a rumour, so far are they now set inside his head. So he goes for a big serve, tongue furry and eyes blurred; Cobolli gets it back, but he guides a backhand down the line, restoring deuce, as we cut to Mirra Andreeva loving life, the contrast disconcerting. Back on court, Zverev plays a dreadful, floaty half-volley … but Cobolli can only net in response … so he yet again explodes into a forehand, leaping to punish a ball down the line, restoring deuce in the process. These men are exposing their interiority to us all, but from there, the German closes out his consolidation, ands he leads 2-0 in the fifth. Photograph: Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 0-1 Zverev We knew we’d have to go some for this year’s final to get close to last, and though the standard isn’t the same, the emotion is something else – Cobolli leaves the court, and for a second, I swear I see Zverev hold back tears. One significant thing separating elite sportsfolk from the rest of us is talent, sure, but one separating them from other sportsfolk with elite talent is the ability to deliver motor skills under pressure that would leave most people a cringing, convulsing mess. Here, though, we’ve watched both men choke, but Zverev isn’t just playing for the trophy, he’s playing for his career and for the peace of mind – if he loses here, he’ll surely never recover, his internal monologue the script for a Lars von Trier film. But a slice down the line makes him 15-40, Cobolli saving the first break point with an ace down the T … and the second when Zverev nets a backhand. The underdog, though, then goes long to cede advantage … and wide to donate the break! Zverev leads 1-0 in the fifth, with a break, feeding himself a gary at change of ends, and he’s five holds away from becoming a grand slam champion. If I’m Cobolli, I’m reminding him of that forthwith. Flavio Cobolli wins the fourth set 7-6(5) to force a fifth set against Alexander Zverev! MDLKNOJKSDNNLLE! From the deepest, darkest recesses of his soul, Cobolli dredges up a flat forehand winner down the line, hit with such venom it’s borderline illegal, and I’ve not the slightest clue how he managed that seconds after he’d missed a dolly. But he did so to a fifth we go, the drama now an encompassing sickness affecting us all. Flavio Cobolli wins the fourth set! Photograph: Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-6 (6-5) Zverev Zverev holds for 5-4, so Cobolli now has two serves to force a decider – with memories of his misses the last time he was in front in the set still fresh. But somehow, he keeps his hand steady enough to caress a drop which raises set point at 6-4, fires a serve out wide then races in to leap to tap over a routine overhead to finish the breaker … AND SOMEHOW GLANCES IT WIDE! ON MY COMPLETE AND UTTER DAYS! ELITE SPORT, MY MATES, IS HARD, AND IF HE LOSES HERE, THAT ERROR WILL HAUNT THE DREAMS OF HIS GRANDCHILDREN! But he has one more go, on the Zverev serve… Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-6 (5-3) Zverev A big forehand from Cobolli and, on the stretch, Zverev goes long, his mini-break confiscated, and we’re back on serve at the changeover, Cobolli then unloading the suitcase on a forehand for 4-3 … and a double then donating 5-3, the umpire checking the mark to up the awful tension yet further. Flavio Cobolli stretches to play a backhand. Photograph: Dan Istitene/Getty Images Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-6 (1-3) Zverev Zverev, who’s won 12 breakers in a row in this competition, a record, doesn’t do enough with a volley, so Cobolli scurries in and passes him, saluting the crowd with a finger, Denis Law-style, to celebrate the immediate mini-break. Of course he then nets, handing it straight back, and I can’t remember the last time I saw two players choking simultaneously. But Zverev does well to snaffle the next point and, no longer looking so bothered by his cramp, is five holds away from paradise. And he secures the first with two groundstrokes that hit lines, backed up with a gorgeously-painted drop for 3-1; he’s getting there, but if we could measure such things, I’d say no one’s been more ill with nerves since Andy Murray tried serving out his first Wimbledon in 2013. *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-6 Zverev Zverev didn’t take a timeout, just took treatment for cramping, and we’ve seen him be fine playing way longer matches than this one – this is surely a stress-induced situation, the horror of the years haunting him. Cobolli, though, seems to have righted himself, winning a rat-a-tat-tat at the net, then slamming down an ace; we’re going to a fourth-set breaker and I’m feeling sick, never mind our players. Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 5-6 Zverev* Playing for time, Zverev is given a violation for not serving soon enough, but again, whatever his problem is, it’s allowing him to play with freedom, either because, unable to rely on his body lasting through tallies, he’s taking chances, or because problem-solving has distracted him from problems. He races to 40-0, but then at 40-15, dumps an overhead, the sickness threatening to overwhelm him … so he crunches an ace down the T, the umpire checking because Cobolli thinks it’s wide … which it isn’t. That is an absolutely colossal hold and. once it’s secure, Zverev calls out the trainer, the break heightening the tension even further. The Italian must now hold to stay in the match; can he keep level? *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 5-5 Zverev Zverev keeps Cobolli waiting as is his wont, sickness no doubt rising in both. And it’s Cobolli’s that ejects first, a netted forehand making 0-15, but Zverev is stretching out his right leg – is he suffering a stress cramp, as Alcaraz did in the 2023 semi? Well, a stupefying forehand winner down the line suggests he’s OK and it’s soon 0-30, but a ball looped wide takes Cobolli to within two points of the set, cueing further leg extensions – I bet he tales a medical timeout if he loses this set. And at 15-30, a backhand clips the next and lands long … then another winner, a line forehand, raises break-back point! Is the cramp, if that’s what it is, forcing him to attack and shorten the rallies?And have a look! Another backhand winner, again flashed down the line, secures the break back, then Zverev takes a pill from someone who isn’t a doctor – this is getting very odd, both men wilting under pressure of ludicrous intensity. Alex Zverev necks a couple of pills between service games. Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/Reuters Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 5-4 Zverev* Zverev rushes through a love hold, forcing Cobolli to serve for that decider. How are your nerves, old mate? *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 5-3 Zverev A brilliant forehand from Zverev takes command of the first rally, but does he bottle the next shot? I fear he does, a telegraphed double sitting up, but he manages to ride out the point for 15-all, then Cobolli goes long on the backhand, his internal monologue haunting him. Zverev, though, does likewise for 30-all, then shovels a backhand wide … only for Cobolli to panic having misjudged an overhead, flapping long and taking us to deuce. The standard in’t great but the drama is immersive, another Zverev error – another zverror – donating advantage, converted thanks to a backhand down the line and follow-up volley. Cobolli is a game away from forcing a decider and yes, I’m regretting not consulting my local turf accountant for a price on him winning in five. Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 4-3 Zverev* A crafty squash-shot backhand down the line takes Cobolli to 15-all and an error from Zverev means 15-30 – the way this is going, I’m not sure either man will be able to hold it down long enough to close out. Meantime, though, the underdog backs away … and conjures a wondrous forehand winner flat down the line! Moments after breaking back, Zverev is down two break points, and he looks in turmoil, a supposition given weight when he opts to serve-volley, dumping his +1, and Cobolli is two hold away from forcing a decider. Both men look liable to vomit up their gizzard at any moment. *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 3-3 Zverev Righto, here we go: how are your insides, Flavio? Cobolli opens the game with a double then, during a long and exacting rally, goes long on then forehand before thrashing another wide; at 0-40, the game and tournament might just be here. The first break point is saved when Zverev nets a forehand, an ace eliminates the second … and the third disappears when the German frames a forehand, his hard work ruined by two loose shots; he loves pressure as much as Axl Rose loves Mick wall from Kerrang! Oh, but another poor one from Cobolli donates advantage, and a thoroughly miserable game is ended by yet another forehand error, his break gone. Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 3-2 Zverev* That botched drop last game told us exactly how nervous Zverev is – and we’re not even that close to the end of the match, his bum not so much squeaky as shrieking Roxette’s It Must’ve Been Love. He does, though, control this game pretty well, but at both 30-0 and 40-15, Cobolli finds winners … only to return into the net on game point. Zverev secures a vital hold, but can he find the break-back? *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 3-1 Zverev Up 15-0, Cobolli nets, and it’s occurring to me that, engaging though this final is, it lacks the rare genius Sincaraz disburse like it’s nothing. Oh, and when the Italian nets a forehand for 30-all, he needs to find something … actually, no he doesn’t, because Zverev gives it to him, waving a telegraphed drop that’s easily mashed back at him and, from there, the hold is secured. Flavio Cobolli has the break in the fourth set. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 2-1 Zverev* Zverev needed that, “that” being a a gold to love, sealed with an ace. He’s into this fourth set, but can he find the break-back he needs? *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 2-0 Zverev Has Zverev ever considered lozzing his ponytail? Maybe he’s using up all his bravery walking about with that on his heed – just a thought. Meantime, Cobolli makes 40-15, then nails a T-serve so nashes in behind it to dispatch a volley, sealing a critical hold. Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 1-0 Zverev* Zverev opens set four with a statement service-winner … but follows it with a telling double. This is not easy for him, at all, and when he jiggers a volley with classically hard hands, Cobolli – who won’t be over bussing all the work he put into set three with four tame errors – runs in to make 15-30. Gosh, and another double follows – focus, nerves or random, you decide – and a long service ups the pressure yet further. Then, when the rally gets under way, neither man takes any chances, then Zverev goes wide, and he’ll be fearing that, yet again, he doesn’t have the moxie to see out a final. Alexander Zverev takes the third set 6-4 to lead Flavio Cobolli 2-1 *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 Zverev Cobolli quickly makes 30-0, but then overhits a forehand after annihilating a succession thereof. And the mistake might just tell, Zverev upping the ante next rally, knowing his time has come, a netted forehand making things tight … and another raising set point! Out of nowhere, Cobolli seems to have remembered he’s playing in a grand slam final, so he opens his body to unleash his trusty inside-out forehand … and misses the sideline by a fraction. That was fair enough; the problem was the errors which preceded it and, as he’s been twice before, Zverev is a set away from fulfilling his heart’s desires. Cobolli will be feeling extremely poorly, because he blinked without that much prompting so to do. Alex Zverev is a set away from the title. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-5 Zverev* An ace down the T opens the game, then another out wide takes command of it; Zverev’s serve really is one of the finest shots in the game. And though, at 40-0, Cobolli reads one, flashing back a forehand winner, the German then lanks in to flicks a drop back across the face of the net, securing a vital hold; he’s a game away from a 2-1 lead, scoreboard pressure gnawing at Cobolli’s ankles. *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-4 Zverev Zverev makes 0-15 but Cobolli zooms in under the radar to tickle a terrific volley over the net – I really like the way he’s balancing risk and reward now. But at 30-15, he doesn’t do enough with a backhand pick-up so is deservedly punished … then a poor return allows him to dictate the next point and a leaping forehand winner, down the line and on to the baseline, secures the hold. His confidence is radiating through the screen – I suggest you try and grab some, because we could all do with just a bit of it. This is getting tight…. Cobolli 1-6 6-4 3-4 Zverev* A love hold to Zverev, who’s doing a decent job of managing the intense pressure he’s under. We’ve said it before, several times over the course of the last fortnight, but it bears repeating: everything he’s ever wanted and worked for, all the pain, all the tears, all the desperation, can be alleviated this afternoon … or branded upon his soul. At 29, he’s not near the end, but if he can’t get it done with Sinner and Alcaraz removed for him, the scarring will be profound and debilitating. *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 3-3 Zverev A brilliant Zverev backhand, swatted low over the net, makes 15-all, but Cobolli is into his work now, a big serve facilitating an inside-out forehand winner to the corner. But when a backhand, taken early but overhit, hands over 40-30, he’s under a bit of pressure … which he wears superbly, that serve-forehand combo again doing the business. This is now a tremendous contest. Cobolli 1-6 6-4 2-3 Zverev* Make no mistake, Zverev’s wounds are smarting, and they’re affecting him – he’s picking safe options to avoid giving anything away, whereas Cobolli is paying each ball on its merits, taking risks to make gains. The German does, though, secure another hold, the match rattling along with pleasing tempo and intensity. *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 2-2 Zverev Oooh, at 0-15, Cobolli overhits the inside-out forehand that served him so well in set two, a flatter one cross-court earning him 15-30. This is a crucial point in the match and Zverev comes in … but the attempted pass is wide, just, and here come two breaking opportunities. The first is burned when the German gets nervous, decelerating through a netted forehand, worrying about outcome not process – the ball was there for him, he had every right to hit it. A serve out wide follows, Cobolli rushing in to put away a volley then, up advantage, he chwhips a forehand on to the sideline, and he’s playing with the greater confidence now. Photograph: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images Cobolli 1-6 6-4 1-2 Zverev* Zverev moves to 40-0, so Cobolli backs away like he’s trying to open up the off side, the serve down the middle out, completing a double. But from there, the German secures his hold, and we might be reaching that elusive juncture in which both players are playing well. *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 1-1 Zverev There’s a confidence about Cobolli at the moment, but at 40-15, he rally-balls a backhand long … then thwacks a terrific serve out wide, which is exactly what I mean: he backs himself, but must take advantage of his improving form to forge in front in the match, Cobolli 1-6 6-4 0-1 Zverev* Cobolli must make Zverev play now, looking to exploit his nerves and memories … and he quickly makes 0-15. From there, though, the German wins four quick points on the spin, and will be feeling a bit better now. Meantime, in a novel move, the King of France seems to prefer a boater to a crown – or he’s come dressed as a movie villain with humanising, individuating swag. Photograph: Stéphane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images Post navigation বিশ্বকাপে ইরানের রাস্তা: শেষ মুহূর্তের ভিসা ও ট্রেনিং ক্যাম্প চলছে রিপাবলিকান সিনেটররা ভোটার তালিকা পরিষ্কার করার জন্য রাজ্যগুলিকে উৎসাহিত করার জন্য নতুন আইন প্রণয়ন করছে
We’re almost ready for the presentation, to be made by Adriano Panatta – the last Italian man to win Roland Garros, in 1976. The last German, before Zverev, was Henner Henkel in 1937.
If only he who has suffered can no true joy, Zverev might just be the happiest man ever to live – he’s certainly the happiest alive now, and what a feeling that must be. We think the extremes of emotion we experience watching all this are intense, because they are, but the extent of what the players go through is unfathomable to anyone but them, and even then. When Zverev lost to Sinner in that Aussie Open final, it seemed like something inside him left, and had things not worked in his favour here, I doubt he’d have got to this point. But now they did and he has, where can he take it from here?
And hold tight Flavio Cobolli. It all got a bit much for him at the end, but he’s a fantastic player with lots of improving yet to do, and I can’t wait to see how he progresses.
Alexander Zverev is a major champion and no one can ever take that away from him. He made the hardest possible work of it, but he’s there now, the first German man to win a major since Boris Becker took the Aussie Open in 1996. He races up to his box and celebrates with his people, who’ve absorbed every hit with him, his brother, his dad, his gran – his mum is walking the dog somewhere close by – and they’re going to have a night tonight.
Alexander Zverev (2) beats Flavio Cobolli (10) 6-1 4-6 6-4 (5)6-7 6-1 Cobolli butchers another overhead AND ZVEREV HAS DONE IT! He collapses on to the clay, tears instant, and all that agony, all that fear, all that shame … gone. Alex Zverev is a grand slam champion! Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 1-5 Zverev A Cobolli backhand hits the tape … and clambers over the net, dying – one championship point saved…
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 1-5 Zverev Cobolli nets a drop, goes long with a backhand, double-faults; Zverev has three championship points! The moment he thought he’d never experience is almost his…
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 1-5 Zverev* Cobolli goes wide with a forehand down the line, but when Zverev doesn’t do enough with his +1, he nails a backhand cross, the crowd singing his name. A service winner follows, then an overhead is good enough, just, and at 40-15, he’s five points from victory … make that four, Cobolli netting a backhand, and it’ll take the mother and father of all bottles for Zverev not to see this out.
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 1-4 Zverev Cobolli rushes through a love hold and is on the board in the decider, but then calls out the physio to go at his right quad – last time it was the calf – and can he find a break?
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 0-4 Zverev* If one of the greatest servers in the history of the game can’t get it done from here, we’ll be talking about perhaps the greatest choke of all time. And he does find himself down 0-15 then, at 15-all, he carelessly nets a mid-court backhand, under little pressure – well, under little pressure from hid opponent but subsiding under that he’s applying to himself. Gosh, and he then does the same again, meaning he now faces two break points, saving the first then charging about the back to stick in the second, eventually having to admit defeat when offering up a simple overhead … which Cobolli dumps! He’s running out of gas, I fear, but with Zverev up advantage, a double follows, the second delivery weak; if he misses first go, he doesn’t trust himself to land anything decent … but two fine points then take him to 4-0, and the Roman is running out of road.
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 0-3 Zverev “FUCK!” screams Cobolli as he wallops a backhand long, getting lucky next point when he makes a mess of two chances to pass, both men at the net; Zverev volleys into it. But Cobolli isn’t enjoying this now, another error making 15-30, and when a backhand flies wide, the German has two points for a double break, and surely, even by the standard, two points for his first grand slam; my fingers have gone so cold I can barely type. Cobolli, though, saves the first in superb style, a tremendous angled volley from below the level of the net far too good … but then he’s caught at it, Zverev passing him, and he’s three games away from making every unit of pain he’s ever experienced completely irrelevant.
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 0-2 Zverev* A double does nothing to improve Zverev’s state of mind and, as we said at the start, there really is nothing like this, nothing whatsoever – all around the world, people are compelled by what we’re seeing, and for the time we have left, nothing else matters, not our problems, not or relationships, not our fears. We’re all in it together, and when Zverev opens the game with two doubles, bile rises in us all. But it’s soon 30-all … then an over-cooked forehand hands over break-back point, the germans yes but a rumour, so far are they now set inside his head. So he goes for a big serve, tongue furry and eyes blurred; Cobolli gets it back, but he guides a backhand down the line, restoring deuce, as we cut to Mirra Andreeva loving life, the contrast disconcerting. Back on court, Zverev plays a dreadful, floaty half-volley … but Cobolli can only net in response … so he yet again explodes into a forehand, leaping to punish a ball down the line, restoring deuce in the process. These men are exposing their interiority to us all, but from there, the German closes out his consolidation, ands he leads 2-0 in the fifth. Photograph: Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(5) 0-1 Zverev We knew we’d have to go some for this year’s final to get close to last, and though the standard isn’t the same, the emotion is something else – Cobolli leaves the court, and for a second, I swear I see Zverev hold back tears. One significant thing separating elite sportsfolk from the rest of us is talent, sure, but one separating them from other sportsfolk with elite talent is the ability to deliver motor skills under pressure that would leave most people a cringing, convulsing mess. Here, though, we’ve watched both men choke, but Zverev isn’t just playing for the trophy, he’s playing for his career and for the peace of mind – if he loses here, he’ll surely never recover, his internal monologue the script for a Lars von Trier film. But a slice down the line makes him 15-40, Cobolli saving the first break point with an ace down the T … and the second when Zverev nets a backhand. The underdog, though, then goes long to cede advantage … and wide to donate the break! Zverev leads 1-0 in the fifth, with a break, feeding himself a gary at change of ends, and he’s five holds away from becoming a grand slam champion. If I’m Cobolli, I’m reminding him of that forthwith.
Flavio Cobolli wins the fourth set 7-6(5) to force a fifth set against Alexander Zverev! MDLKNOJKSDNNLLE! From the deepest, darkest recesses of his soul, Cobolli dredges up a flat forehand winner down the line, hit with such venom it’s borderline illegal, and I’ve not the slightest clue how he managed that seconds after he’d missed a dolly. But he did so to a fifth we go, the drama now an encompassing sickness affecting us all. Flavio Cobolli wins the fourth set! Photograph: Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-6 (6-5) Zverev Zverev holds for 5-4, so Cobolli now has two serves to force a decider – with memories of his misses the last time he was in front in the set still fresh. But somehow, he keeps his hand steady enough to caress a drop which raises set point at 6-4, fires a serve out wide then races in to leap to tap over a routine overhead to finish the breaker … AND SOMEHOW GLANCES IT WIDE! ON MY COMPLETE AND UTTER DAYS! ELITE SPORT, MY MATES, IS HARD, AND IF HE LOSES HERE, THAT ERROR WILL HAUNT THE DREAMS OF HIS GRANDCHILDREN! But he has one more go, on the Zverev serve…
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-6 (5-3) Zverev A big forehand from Cobolli and, on the stretch, Zverev goes long, his mini-break confiscated, and we’re back on serve at the changeover, Cobolli then unloading the suitcase on a forehand for 4-3 … and a double then donating 5-3, the umpire checking the mark to up the awful tension yet further. Flavio Cobolli stretches to play a backhand. Photograph: Dan Istitene/Getty Images
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-6 (1-3) Zverev Zverev, who’s won 12 breakers in a row in this competition, a record, doesn’t do enough with a volley, so Cobolli scurries in and passes him, saluting the crowd with a finger, Denis Law-style, to celebrate the immediate mini-break. Of course he then nets, handing it straight back, and I can’t remember the last time I saw two players choking simultaneously. But Zverev does well to snaffle the next point and, no longer looking so bothered by his cramp, is five holds away from paradise. And he secures the first with two groundstrokes that hit lines, backed up with a gorgeously-painted drop for 3-1; he’s getting there, but if we could measure such things, I’d say no one’s been more ill with nerves since Andy Murray tried serving out his first Wimbledon in 2013.
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-6 Zverev Zverev didn’t take a timeout, just took treatment for cramping, and we’ve seen him be fine playing way longer matches than this one – this is surely a stress-induced situation, the horror of the years haunting him. Cobolli, though, seems to have righted himself, winning a rat-a-tat-tat at the net, then slamming down an ace; we’re going to a fourth-set breaker and I’m feeling sick, never mind our players.
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 5-6 Zverev* Playing for time, Zverev is given a violation for not serving soon enough, but again, whatever his problem is, it’s allowing him to play with freedom, either because, unable to rely on his body lasting through tallies, he’s taking chances, or because problem-solving has distracted him from problems. He races to 40-0, but then at 40-15, dumps an overhead, the sickness threatening to overwhelm him … so he crunches an ace down the T, the umpire checking because Cobolli thinks it’s wide … which it isn’t. That is an absolutely colossal hold and. once it’s secure, Zverev calls out the trainer, the break heightening the tension even further. The Italian must now hold to stay in the match; can he keep level?
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 5-5 Zverev Zverev keeps Cobolli waiting as is his wont, sickness no doubt rising in both. And it’s Cobolli’s that ejects first, a netted forehand making 0-15, but Zverev is stretching out his right leg – is he suffering a stress cramp, as Alcaraz did in the 2023 semi? Well, a stupefying forehand winner down the line suggests he’s OK and it’s soon 0-30, but a ball looped wide takes Cobolli to within two points of the set, cueing further leg extensions – I bet he tales a medical timeout if he loses this set. And at 15-30, a backhand clips the next and lands long … then another winner, a line forehand, raises break-back point! Is the cramp, if that’s what it is, forcing him to attack and shorten the rallies?And have a look! Another backhand winner, again flashed down the line, secures the break back, then Zverev takes a pill from someone who isn’t a doctor – this is getting very odd, both men wilting under pressure of ludicrous intensity. Alex Zverev necks a couple of pills between service games. Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/Reuters
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 5-4 Zverev* Zverev rushes through a love hold, forcing Cobolli to serve for that decider. How are your nerves, old mate?
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 5-3 Zverev A brilliant forehand from Zverev takes command of the first rally, but does he bottle the next shot? I fear he does, a telegraphed double sitting up, but he manages to ride out the point for 15-all, then Cobolli goes long on the backhand, his internal monologue haunting him. Zverev, though, does likewise for 30-all, then shovels a backhand wide … only for Cobolli to panic having misjudged an overhead, flapping long and taking us to deuce. The standard in’t great but the drama is immersive, another Zverev error – another zverror – donating advantage, converted thanks to a backhand down the line and follow-up volley. Cobolli is a game away from forcing a decider and yes, I’m regretting not consulting my local turf accountant for a price on him winning in five.
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 4-3 Zverev* A crafty squash-shot backhand down the line takes Cobolli to 15-all and an error from Zverev means 15-30 – the way this is going, I’m not sure either man will be able to hold it down long enough to close out. Meantime, though, the underdog backs away … and conjures a wondrous forehand winner flat down the line! Moments after breaking back, Zverev is down two break points, and he looks in turmoil, a supposition given weight when he opts to serve-volley, dumping his +1, and Cobolli is two hold away from forcing a decider. Both men look liable to vomit up their gizzard at any moment.
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 3-3 Zverev Righto, here we go: how are your insides, Flavio? Cobolli opens the game with a double then, during a long and exacting rally, goes long on then forehand before thrashing another wide; at 0-40, the game and tournament might just be here. The first break point is saved when Zverev nets a forehand, an ace eliminates the second … and the third disappears when the German frames a forehand, his hard work ruined by two loose shots; he loves pressure as much as Axl Rose loves Mick wall from Kerrang! Oh, but another poor one from Cobolli donates advantage, and a thoroughly miserable game is ended by yet another forehand error, his break gone.
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 3-2 Zverev* That botched drop last game told us exactly how nervous Zverev is – and we’re not even that close to the end of the match, his bum not so much squeaky as shrieking Roxette’s It Must’ve Been Love. He does, though, control this game pretty well, but at both 30-0 and 40-15, Cobolli finds winners … only to return into the net on game point. Zverev secures a vital hold, but can he find the break-back?
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 3-1 Zverev Up 15-0, Cobolli nets, and it’s occurring to me that, engaging though this final is, it lacks the rare genius Sincaraz disburse like it’s nothing. Oh, and when the Italian nets a forehand for 30-all, he needs to find something … actually, no he doesn’t, because Zverev gives it to him, waving a telegraphed drop that’s easily mashed back at him and, from there, the hold is secured. Flavio Cobolli has the break in the fourth set. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 2-1 Zverev* Zverev needed that, “that” being a a gold to love, sealed with an ace. He’s into this fourth set, but can he find the break-back he needs?
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 2-0 Zverev Has Zverev ever considered lozzing his ponytail? Maybe he’s using up all his bravery walking about with that on his heed – just a thought. Meantime, Cobolli makes 40-15, then nails a T-serve so nashes in behind it to dispatch a volley, sealing a critical hold.
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 1-0 Zverev* Zverev opens set four with a statement service-winner … but follows it with a telling double. This is not easy for him, at all, and when he jiggers a volley with classically hard hands, Cobolli – who won’t be over bussing all the work he put into set three with four tame errors – runs in to make 15-30. Gosh, and another double follows – focus, nerves or random, you decide – and a long service ups the pressure yet further. Then, when the rally gets under way, neither man takes any chances, then Zverev goes wide, and he’ll be fearing that, yet again, he doesn’t have the moxie to see out a final.
Alexander Zverev takes the third set 6-4 to lead Flavio Cobolli 2-1 *Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-6 Zverev Cobolli quickly makes 30-0, but then overhits a forehand after annihilating a succession thereof. And the mistake might just tell, Zverev upping the ante next rally, knowing his time has come, a netted forehand making things tight … and another raising set point! Out of nowhere, Cobolli seems to have remembered he’s playing in a grand slam final, so he opens his body to unleash his trusty inside-out forehand … and misses the sideline by a fraction. That was fair enough; the problem was the errors which preceded it and, as he’s been twice before, Zverev is a set away from fulfilling his heart’s desires. Cobolli will be feeling extremely poorly, because he blinked without that much prompting so to do. Alex Zverev is a set away from the title. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-5 Zverev* An ace down the T opens the game, then another out wide takes command of it; Zverev’s serve really is one of the finest shots in the game. And though, at 40-0, Cobolli reads one, flashing back a forehand winner, the German then lanks in to flicks a drop back across the face of the net, securing a vital hold; he’s a game away from a 2-1 lead, scoreboard pressure gnawing at Cobolli’s ankles.
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 4-4 Zverev Zverev makes 0-15 but Cobolli zooms in under the radar to tickle a terrific volley over the net – I really like the way he’s balancing risk and reward now. But at 30-15, he doesn’t do enough with a backhand pick-up so is deservedly punished … then a poor return allows him to dictate the next point and a leaping forehand winner, down the line and on to the baseline, secures the hold. His confidence is radiating through the screen – I suggest you try and grab some, because we could all do with just a bit of it. This is getting tight….
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 3-4 Zverev* A love hold to Zverev, who’s doing a decent job of managing the intense pressure he’s under. We’ve said it before, several times over the course of the last fortnight, but it bears repeating: everything he’s ever wanted and worked for, all the pain, all the tears, all the desperation, can be alleviated this afternoon … or branded upon his soul. At 29, he’s not near the end, but if he can’t get it done with Sinner and Alcaraz removed for him, the scarring will be profound and debilitating.
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 3-3 Zverev A brilliant Zverev backhand, swatted low over the net, makes 15-all, but Cobolli is into his work now, a big serve facilitating an inside-out forehand winner to the corner. But when a backhand, taken early but overhit, hands over 40-30, he’s under a bit of pressure … which he wears superbly, that serve-forehand combo again doing the business. This is now a tremendous contest.
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 2-3 Zverev* Make no mistake, Zverev’s wounds are smarting, and they’re affecting him – he’s picking safe options to avoid giving anything away, whereas Cobolli is paying each ball on its merits, taking risks to make gains. The German does, though, secure another hold, the match rattling along with pleasing tempo and intensity.
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 2-2 Zverev Oooh, at 0-15, Cobolli overhits the inside-out forehand that served him so well in set two, a flatter one cross-court earning him 15-30. This is a crucial point in the match and Zverev comes in … but the attempted pass is wide, just, and here come two breaking opportunities. The first is burned when the German gets nervous, decelerating through a netted forehand, worrying about outcome not process – the ball was there for him, he had every right to hit it. A serve out wide follows, Cobolli rushing in to put away a volley then, up advantage, he chwhips a forehand on to the sideline, and he’s playing with the greater confidence now. Photograph: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 1-2 Zverev* Zverev moves to 40-0, so Cobolli backs away like he’s trying to open up the off side, the serve down the middle out, completing a double. But from there, the German secures his hold, and we might be reaching that elusive juncture in which both players are playing well.
*Cobolli 1-6 6-4 1-1 Zverev There’s a confidence about Cobolli at the moment, but at 40-15, he rally-balls a backhand long … then thwacks a terrific serve out wide, which is exactly what I mean: he backs himself, but must take advantage of his improving form to forge in front in the match,
Cobolli 1-6 6-4 0-1 Zverev* Cobolli must make Zverev play now, looking to exploit his nerves and memories … and he quickly makes 0-15. From there, though, the German wins four quick points on the spin, and will be feeling a bit better now. Meantime, in a novel move, the King of France seems to prefer a boater to a crown – or he’s come dressed as a movie villain with humanising, individuating swag. Photograph: Stéphane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images