Tag: French Open

Alexander Zverev finally secured his maiden Grand Slam title with a dramatic five-set victory over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in the French Open final on Sunday.

The second seed became the first German man to win a major tournament since Boris Becker at the 1996 Australian Open with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1 victory after four hours and 16 minutes.

“This court is so special to me in so many ways… but now finally, it’s a happy end,” said Zverev, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the 2022 semi-final against Rafael Nadal on Court Philippe Chatrier, where he was also edged out in five sets by Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 final.

It was Zverev’s fourth Grand Slam final and second at Roland Garros after some heartbreaking near misses in his career.

“We’ve been through losses, we’ve been losers at times as well in the most important moments,” he said during the trophy presentation, turning to his team.

“But at the end of the day, we’re Grand Slam champions now, and that’s what counts.”

Cobolli, the 10th seed, was bidding to become the first Italian man since Adriano Panatta to win the French Open in 50 years.

The 24-year-old had never even played a Slam semi-final before, let alone a final, after his last-four opponent Matteo Arnaldi withdrew from the tournament through illness.

“It’s not easy for me to talk right now,” said Cobolli after receiving his runner-up trophy from Panatta, before addressing Zverev.

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“I’m happy for you, but I’m also sad because I was close and I feel it. So now you’ve achieved your dream, let me win the next time.”

Both players appeared to struggle with nerves at various points in the match, especially Cobolli during an error-strewn first set.

But Zverev’s greater experience showed in a deciding set that was far tenser than the scoreline suggested, as he managed to get over the line.

The 29-year-old was handed a golden opportunity to break his Grand Slam duck by the injury-enforced absence of reigning champion Alcaraz and surprise early exits for Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.

The world number three was not always in control, making 54 unforced errors, but did enough to finally shed the tag of being one of the best players to have never won a major.

Alexander Zverev had previously also lost in six Slam quarter-finals and seven semi-finals, alongside his three final defeats.

The most agonising miss of all was his first major final when he blew a two-set lead and failed to serve for the championship against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.

The now-retired Thiem was watching on from the stands at Roland Garros as Zverev belatedly put the memories of that match to bed six years later.

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Alexander Zverev moved to the verge of a long-awaited first Grand Slam title as the second seed saw off Jakub Mensik in four sets to reach his second French Open final on Friday.

The German will face either 10th seed Flavio Cobolli or his fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi on Sunday after securing a 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Mensik.

Zverev has endured several near misses at major tournaments, with three previous final defeats, including against Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros two years ago.

“This is a Grand Slam, it’s best of five, things are going to happen, opponents are going to play better. I managed it,” said Zverev.

“I hope to play another great match on Sunday.”

But he will be a strong favourite against either Cobolli or world number 104 Arnaldi to finally get over the line and lift a Slam trophy.

The world number three was playing in his 11th Grand Slam semi-final and his experience showed against Czech youngster Mensik.

The 20-year-old, in the last four of a major for the first time, tired as the match went on as his previous exertions in Paris, including two five-set matches, took their toll.

Zverev has dealt well with the pressure of being the tournament favourite since the early exits of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, in the second and third rounds respectively.

He will face one last test of his mental strength on Court Philippe Chatrier in two days’ time, but should at least be fresh physically after reaching the final having only lost two sets in six matches.

“Pure emptiness, there’s absolutely nothing in my head,” insisted a smiling Zverev in his on-court interview.

“We’re athletes, very few of us have anything in our heads. Sometimes it’s easier to be stupid and not to think too much.”

The 29-year-old has been within one set of victory in two of his previous Slam finals, when facing Alcaraz in Paris in 2024 and when he blew a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.

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Zverev is also aiming to end a 14-month title drought dating back to a clay-court event in Munich in April last year.

Zverev took a closely-fought first set courtesy of a break in the 11th game, having earlier saved three break points to deny Mensik a 5-3 lead.

The 26th seed could not keep pace at all in the second set, as Zverev broke twice and only dropped four points on his own serve.

Mensik called for a medical time-out just three games into the third set, appearing to struggle with a neck injury.

But he dragged himself back into the contest seemingly out of nowhere, breaking to take a 4-2 lead in the third set as his use of the drop shot started to make a greater impact.

That shot wrapped up a hold to love and the set — only the second Zverev had lost in the tournament.

Mensik could not keep up his momentum, though, falling 2-0 behind in the fourth set as consecutive backhand unforced errors gifted Zverev a break.

The three-time Grand Slam runner-up powered into the final from there, despite drawing the ire of some spectators for disputing two line calls and also receiving a warning for a time violation.

Zverev wrapped up victory on his first match point as Mensik netted a backhand.

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Mirra Andreeva raced into her first Grand Slam final as she beat an erratic Marta Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 at the French Open on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Russian took one hour and 16 minutes to overcome her Ukrainian opponent. Andreeva will play either compatriot Diana Shnaider or Pole Maja Chwalinska in Saturday’s final.

“I’m still very, very nervous. I was very nervous coming into this match,” said eighth-seeded Andreeva on court at the end.

Kostyuk, the 15th seed, had won her previous two meetings with Andreeva, both this year. The most recent was on clay in the final in Madrid as Kostyuk put together a 17-match unbeaten run on the red dirt coming into the Roland Garros last four.

Yet, on Thursday, she quickly started to unravel against her teenage opponent. Kostyuk dropped serve in the very first game after two double faults and a pair of unforced errors.

She led 0-40 in Andreeva’s first service game but a combination of Kostyuk errors on high-risk strokes and the Russian’s steadier defence allowed Andreeva to recover to consolidate the break.

The pattern persisted as Andreeva grabbed the initiative to win through the 34-minute set.

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Kostyuk had a break point in the first game of the second set but could not take it.

Andreeva pulled 4-1 ahead. Kostyuk, who finished with 34 unforced errors, finally forced a break of her own but promptly dropped serve to love and Andreeva duly served out the win.

“She’s had an amazing season,” said Andreeva of Kostyuk. “She’s an amazing player, very tough opponent.

“I’m super happy with the way I played and then that I got revenge for Madrid final and I’m happy that I’m in my first-ever Grand Slam final.

“All of these feelings combined it’s amazing. I’ve never felt anything like this before.”

Andreeva was the only one of the women’s semi-finalists to have reached this stage at one of the four majors — she lost to Jasmine Paolini at the last-four stage of Roland Garros in 2024.

Shnaider and Chwalinska, a qualifier, meet to decide her final opponent later Thursday.

“I’m nervous but at the same time I’m very, very excited,” added Andreeva of playing her first major title-decider.

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Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a first French Open title was left in tatters as she fell apart in a bizarre defeat by Russian 25th seed Diana Shnaider in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The world number one led by a set and a double-break before exiting the tournament in a blaze of unforced errors, collapsing to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss in blustery conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Shnaider will face Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska in the semi-finals on Thursday, with Marta Kostyuk or Mirra Andreeva awaiting the winner in Sunday’s final.

“Well honestly I’m speechless, I’m super happy. Obviously tough conditions with the wind,” said the 22-year-old Shnaider after beating a top-10 player for only the second time in her career.

“First time playing Aryna so definitely a lot of nerves and I feel the first set was trying to adjust to her game.”

Sabalenka was the only Grand Slam champion left in either the men’s or women’s singles draws at Roland Garros, but belied that status by making a whopping 57 unforced errors.

Shnaider was playing in her first major quarter-final, but now finds herself a strong favourite to reach the final heading into her last-four tie against world number 114 and fellow left-hander Chwalinska.

“Definitely super happy I managed to finish on a good note rather than start on a good note. Definitely a special tournament for me here,” added the Russian.

“It’s going be a lefty battle so I’m looking forward (to the semi-final).”

Sabalenka’s scarcely believable defeat was reminiscent of the way she threw away a strong position in last year’s final against Coco Gauff.

The Belarusian was playing in a 14th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final but failed to become the first woman to make seven straight major semis since Serena Williams.

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The top seed raced into a 5-1 lead and eventually sealed the opener on her third set point after initially failing to serve it out.

The second set followed a similar pattern at first, as Sabalenka moved 4-1 in front with a double-break before throwing away her next service game.

Sabalenka became increasingly frustrated as she gifted Shnaider three break points to level at 4-4.

After some animated remonstrating with her box, she recomposed herself enough to hold.

But the 28-year-old’s game continued to come apart, as a string of dreadful unforced errors allowed Shnaider to break again and tie up the set at 5-5, with Sabalenka left to gesticulate wildly towards her coaching staff.

Shnaider could not believe her luck as Sabalenka dumped successive forehands into the bottom of the net to finish off the set and send the match into a decider.

The Russian grew in confidence and moved 2-0 up in the third as Sabalenka sprayed eight unforced errors around Chatrier in the space of two games.

Shnaider cruised to victory from there, fittingly securing a semi-final berth when Sabalenka knocked a routine backhand into the net on the third match point.

A stunned world number one was left to trudge off court after winning just 14 points in the deciding set.

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World number one Aryna Sabalenka took down fellow four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in straight sets in Monday’s night-session match to reach the French Open quarter-finals.

Sabalenka produced an impressive display, hitting 39 winners and 12 aces, against a battling Osaka to win 7-5, 6-3 and reach the last eight for a 14th consecutive major tournament.

The Belarusian is the only Grand Slam champion left in either the men’s or women’s singles draws at Roland Garros.

She made it three straight wins against Osaka this year, having lost their only previous meeting at the 2018 US Open.

Sabalenka will next take on Russian Diana Shnaider as she continues her bid for a maiden French Open crown and to banish the memories of her painful final defeat last year by Coco Gauff.

Japanese star Osaka, again sporting the sequined gold dress she likened to the Eiffel Tower at night, has to make do with her best-ever run in Paris, ending in the last 16.

It was the first women’s match to feature in the French Open night session since 2023, after a run of 32 consecutive men’s ties which drew repeated criticism of tournament organisers.

Aryna Sabalenka has previously criticised the lack of women’s matches under the lights, saying last year that the WTA stars “deserve equal treatment” to the men.

“I hope that this is the beginning, today’s match. It’s like we open up that door for woman night sessions,” she said Monday.

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The players traded early breaks in a power-packed opening, before Sabalenka levelled the first set at 2-2 with a service hold featuring three aces, the last with a second serve.

The set stayed on serve until the 11th game, when Sabalenka made her move with a blistering backhand winner to bring up two break points, with Osaka netting on the first.

The top seed closed it out in style with a ruthless hold to love.

Osaka gamely managed to hang onto her serve early in the second set, staving off a break point in a marathon game to lead 3-2.

Sabalenka had only dropped six points in her previous seven service games, but was pushed hard by Osaka in game six before eventually holding with a clever drop-shot.

That proved to be a crucial moment, as Osaka’s resistance was finally broken in the next game, a brilliant low volley at the net helping Sabalenka put one foot into the quarters.

An Osaka double-fault brought up match point two games later, and Sabalenka sealed victory with a brutal return.

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Four-time former champion Iga Swiatek endured a miserable birthday as she was eliminated from the French Open fourth round on Sunday by Marta Kostyuk.

The Polish third seed went down 7-5, 6-1 to the 15th seed from Ukraine.

Kostyuk, the Madrid Open winner, moved into the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time in her career.

“I’m still in shock to beat such an unbelievable player who won four times here and I lost four times to her before this, I never took a set off her,” 23-year-old Kostyuk said.

Swiatek will now go another year without the title she first won in 2020 and then three times consecutively between 2022 and 2024.

With her fourth-round exit, it was the joint worst performance at Roland Garros for the 25-year-old, equal with the last-16 departure she suffered on her debut in Paris seven years ago.

The first set went on serve until the seventh game when Swiatek pounced on Kostyuk’s service to move in front.

From there, the Pole’s own delivery deserted her as the world number 15 hit back to level before the pair again exchanged another pair of breaks.

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Kostyuk then dug in to hold and force the former world number one to try and serve to stay in the set.

Two Swiatek double faults gave Kostyuk the chance to claim the opener and she did with a low cross-court backhand that whizzed past her opponent at the net.

Swiatek swiftly departed the court at the interval in a bid to regroup.

She came back out firing as she immediately nosed ahead with a break to 15.

But Kostyuk was not to be denied as she sealed a three-game streak with a bruising forehand winner past a stranded Swiatek to lead 3-1.

A stunning rally concluded with a reflex volley at the net that Swiatek could not equal. In the next game a dominant Kostyuk held to love to move Swiatek to the brink.

The match was up for the six-time major winner as Kostyuk consistently pinned the Pole back with her powerful groundstrokes to win the final two games.

Kostyuk will face either seventh-seeded compatriot Elina Svitolina or Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic for a spot in the semi-finals.

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Jannik Sinner said he ran out of energy and “hit the wall” as his 30-match winning run came to an abrupt halt in the second round of the French Open on Thursday.

World number one Sinner, the red-hot favourite at Roland Garros this year, suffered a dramatic five-set defeat by Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo after a sudden collapse on another sweltering day in Paris.

Sinner appeared to be cruising to victory, holding a two-set lead and a commanding 5–1 advantage in the third, before completely unravelling and sliding to a 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 loss.

“I had no energy today. That can happen. Nobody is a robot,” said the four-time Grand Slam champion, who complained of dehydration and dizziness, saying he felt as though he might vomit.

The Italian left Court Philippe Chatrier to receive medical treatment while serving for the match. He returned minutes later, but Cerundolo sensed his opportunity against an ailing opponent.

“I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy,” added the 24-year-old Sinner. “I was very, very flat, you know, the whole body. I don’t remember [the] last time I felt this weak.”

“I woke up this morning, didn’t feel very well and tried to keep the points very short. In the beginning, I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall.”

Sinner revealed he began to fade halfway through the third set as temperatures once again climbed above 30C during a record-breaking heatwave in France.

But he refused to blame the conditions for his unexpected exit, his earliest at a Grand Slam since he lost at the same stage here in 2023.

“It was warm, but not crazy warm,” said Sinner. “Really, it was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens.

“I don’t want to take anything away from him (Cerundolo). He played a very solid match.”

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Jannik Sinner arrived in Paris on the back of winning all three of the clay-court Masters titles, with his odds of completing a career Grand Slam enhanced further by the absence of injured rival Carlos Alcaraz.

Instead, it was another bitterly disappointing ending at Roland Garros for last year’s runner-up, who held three championship points 12 months ago before losing to Alcaraz.

“It’s tough to accept because of the position I’ve been in and everything considered, but yeah, now I have a lot of time to recover,” said Sinner.

“I won’t play any tournament on grass before (Wimbledon). Now I really need some time off, recover completely, also mentally, and then be ready to go again.

“As I said, at the beginning of the year, this (the French Open) is my main goal here. A very early exit it was not what I was looking for.”

For Cerundolo, who goes on to play Martin Landaluce in the last 32, it was just the third Grand Slam match win of his career.

The Buenos Aires native didn’t blink as Sinner tried to gamely hang on, Cerundolo putting away the struggling top seed to pull off a monumental upset.

“It’s tough for him (Sinner). I think I was a little bit lucky,” said Cerundolo. “The match was almost lost.”

“I started to notice that something wasn’t good, because I mean, he was beating me pretty easy,” he added.

“Tennis is about being in the present day and being better in that match. He’s number one in the world because he’s the best every day. (It) just happened this day. I was better this day.”

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Novak Djokovic came from a set down to beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 and book his spot in the second round of the French Open on Sunday.

The 24-time major champion Djokovic is seeking to win a fourth Roland Garros crown, which would send him beyond Margaret Court as the player with the most Grand Slam titles in the history of the sport.

“His service is practically impossible to see… Only once or twice in my career (have I seen a serve like it),” Djokovic said on-court of his big-serving opponent.

It was a first victory on the red dirt of the season for the 39-year-old after he skipped the vast majority of the clay-court swing due to a shoulder issue.

Djokovic showed his rustiness by blinking first in the opening set as Mpetshi Perricard got the Parisian crowd on their feet with a break of serve in the 11th game, before holding comfortably to get his nose in front.

Djokovic managed to engineer his first two break points of the match in the sixth game of the second frame but failed to convert as the 22-year-old roared back to ensure the set stayed level at 3-3.

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But the Serb, one of tennis’ all-time great returners, was starting to get the measure of the 2.01-metre Mpetshi Perricard’s bullet serve and eventually got the break he so desperately craved in the 12th game of the second set to level the match.

When Mpetshi Perricard sent a wide stretched forehand after chasing down a Djokovic drop shot, it was the first break point converted by the former world number one out of 10 across the set.

With his eye now firmly in, Djokovic wasted no time in getting ahead in the third frame as he broke the former world number 29 in the second game to race into a 3-0 lead.

The unrelenting Djokovic then won three of the next four games to claim a rapid-fire third set. The pair exchanged breaks right at the start of the fourth set before the match settled back into its earlier ebb and flow.

Djokovic struck again to get 4-3 ahead, this time serving out to book his spot in the round of 64, where he will face another Frenchman, Valentin Royer.

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Novak Djokovic arrives at Roland Garros this year facing a familiar opponent, but one that cannot be outmanoeuvred even by the record 24-time Grand Slam champion: time.

The Serbian, who turns 39 this week, is no longer the immovable presence he once was, his famed durability now increasingly a concern in a sport shaped by younger, physically explosive rivals.

The question is not simply whether he can win another French Open, but how he continues to adjust his game and mindset to defy the natural erosion that comes with advancing years.

While his scheduling is more selective and his approach more pragmatic, Djokovic conceded he would have liked more time on clay before coming to Paris.

He has played in just three tournaments in 2026, and lost his only match on clay to Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic at this month’s Italian Open.

Djokovic pulled out of tournaments in Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid while dealing with a shoulder injury — with strapping visible during his brief stay in Rome.

“It’s not an ideal preparation, to be honest,” said Djokovic, who will be seeded third at Roland Garros.

“I don’t recall the last time I had in the last couple of years where I didn’t have any kind of physical issues or health issues in the last couple of years, coming into the tournament. There’s always something. Kind of a new reality that I have to deal with.”

It is a candid admission from a player who has built his career on meticulous planning and physical resilience, but who is confronting the realities of an ageing body.

“It is frustrating,” he said. “At the same time it’s my decision to still perform in that kind of state and conditions.”

Djokovic’s record at Roland Garros underlines why he cannot be discounted. The absence of defending two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz is another factor in his favour.

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A three-time French Open champion and one of the few players to consistently trouble Rafael Nadal on the surface, Djokovic has reached the quarter-finals or better at each edition since a third-round loss in 2009.

But the physical demands of clay are unforgiving, and Djokovic is acutely aware of the marginal losses that come with age.

“I see what I’m missing,” he said. “Late half a step. I’m not definitely where I want to be for the highest level, to compete at the highest level and to be able to get far.”

Recent seasons have also shown the growing challenge of sustaining peak performance over the two-week grind of a Grand Slam. Matches that once tilted towards him now demand sustained excellence from first point to last.

His preparation, as he openly acknowledges, has limits. “I train hard. I train as much as the body allows me to,” he said. “Then how it turns out on the court, that’s really unpredictable.”

However, Djokovic is one of just two men to beat red-hot title favourite Jannik Sinner this season, having ended his Australian Open reign.

Djokovic delivered what he called one of his best performances in a decade to outlast the Italian in five sets in the semi-finals in January, fired up by those who had written him off.

“I never stopped doubting. I never stopped believing in myself,” said the former world number one at the time.

“There’s a lot of people that doubt me. I see there is a lot of experts all of a sudden that wanted to retire me or have retired me many times the last couple of years.

“I want to thank them all because they gave me strength. They gave me motivation to prove them wrong.”

Djokovic would go on to lose to Alcaraz in the final, and has not added to his Grand Slam haul since the 2023 US Open, but it would be foolish to dismiss him again, as he has proved many times over.

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Reigning two-time French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz said on Friday he will not play at this year’s tournament as he recovers from a wrist injury.

The Spaniard said the call to shut down his clay season was made after he received the results of tests on his right wrist, also ruling him out of the Italian Open.

“We have decided that the most prudent thing to do is to be cautious and not participate in Rome or Roland Garros,” Alcaraz said on social media.

“This is a difficult time for me, but I’m sure we will come out of it stronger,” Alcaraz added, saying that he and his team would monitor his recovery before deciding when and where he would return.

Alcaraz sustained the injury during the first round of the Barcelona Open last week, where he beat Otto Virtanen but subsequently pulled out of the tournament.

The 22-year-old announced his withdrawal from the Madrid Masters on April 17, increasing concerns over whether he would be able to appear at the French Open.

Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam in January with his triumph at the Australian Open. He holds a 22-3 record this season and also won a title in Doha.

Ranked second in the world, Alcaraz lost top spot following his defeat by Jannik Sinner in the Monte Carlo Masters final on April 12.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner triumphed at Roland Garros in 2024 and 2025. He saved three championship points against Sinner last year in the longest French Open final in history.

The Italian, who has never won the French Open, may be able to capitalise on Alcaraz’s absence. This year’s tournament runs from May 24 to June 7.

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“It’s sad news for all of us, me being a competitor you want to play against the best players in the world and he’s definitely the best player on this surface,” said Sinner, after winning a second round match at the Madrid Open on Friday.

“Being that young like he is and like I am, we need to look at our bodies first before worse things (happen).”

Sinner said he hoped Carlos Alcaraz would be back playing by the time the year’s third Grand Slam, at Wimbledon, arrives.

“It is very sad news, I was not expecting it but he and his team know very well (what they are doing),” continued the 24-year-old.

“Hopefully he can be back for Wimbledon and we all hope for great battles in the future.”

Alcaraz admitted earlier this week that if it was better for his long-term career not to play in Paris then he would take that decision.

“I’d rather come back maybe a bit later, but in great shape, than come back quickly and risk making this injury worse,” he explained on Monday.

“I have a long career ahead of me, so I’m not afraid to miss what I have to miss in order to recover as well as possible.

“I hope it’s nothing serious, but I need to fully recover if I don’t want this to cause me problems in the future.”

It will be just the second Grand Slam that Alcaraz has missed since making his main draw debut at the 2021 Australian Open. The Spaniard withdrew from the 2023 edition in Melbourne with a hamstring injury.

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