In his fourth major final, Alexander Zverev can finally call himself a grand slam champion, holding his nerve to beat Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1.

Both men were their own worst enemies at times, as the unforced error count mounted. But it was the favourite who was finally able to celebrate, falling backwards onto the clay in tears that were prompted by a mixture of both joy and relief.

In 2024, when Zverev played his last Roland Garros final, his fortnight was overshadowed by a domestic violence trial that was discontinued the morning of the men’s semi-finals by a criminal court in Berlin.

This time around, he has been the standout favourite since Jannik Sinner was undone by a combination of illness and heat in the second round. Only a year ago, Zverev proclaimed that “didn’t want to be the best player in history without a grand slam” and on Sunday, he ensured he would not be.

The German had an ideal opportunity at the US Open in 2020 to win a first grand slam title, but blew a two-set lead against the injured Dominic Thiem. He then lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Roland Garros final in 2024, before being beaten by Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final last year.

Both Zverev and Cobolli noticeably tightened up in the fourth set, and started to play with more hesitation, often opting to keep the ball in play rather than going for winners, but it was the German who came out on top.

There was a moment just before the fourth set tie-break when it looked as though yet another opportunity to lift the trophy would slip away from his grasp and he had to call the trainer, armed with a jar of some concoction, onto the court.

But in the decider, however, it was Cobolli who started to feel the weight of the occasion, missing straightforward shots and continuing to miss first serves with alarming regularity. That was despite having the backing from the majority of the almost 15,000 crowd in Philippe-Chatrier.