Key events<\/p>\n
*Cobolli 1-2 Zverev Cobolli nets a backhand for 0-15, but whips a beauty of a forehand down the line, from inside the corner, to make 30-15. And from there, he closes out the hold, an inside-out forehand to the corner securing things, and he\u2019ll feel much better for that.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Cobolli 0-2 Zverev* Down 0-15, Zverev delivers a monstrous T-serve \u2026 then another, backed up with an overhead putaway,. A delivery out wide then facilitates a clean-up to the opposite corner, and a high-kicker out wide secures the consolidation. That was definitive.<\/p>\n Flavio Cobolli is a break down early in the set. Photograph: Thomas Samson\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.44 EDT<\/p>\n *Cobolli 0-1 Zverev (*denotes server) A forehand error for 0-15, then a double for 0-30; Cobolli needs to slow himself down, presumably why Zverev opted to receive. And though the Italian takes control of the next rally, he soon goes long on the forehand, meaning he now faces two break points, the first saved when a forehand falls long and the second by a netted backhand, at the end of a much longer rally. Neither man is at it yet, but Cobolli makes advantage thanks to a fine serve which sets up the rally, and the game looks secure when Zverev nets a return \u2026 except somehow, it clambers over the tape and back to deuce we go. From there, two massive forehands earn the Italian a second advantage, only for one into the net to scrub it, the another down the line is slightly wide and Zverev has what Jim Courier describes as \u201ca third bite at the apple\u201d \u2013 which doesn\u2019t make sense as one might not finish it in one, as would happen to a cherry. Cobolli does find the big serve he needs, but a poor drop allows the German to make advantage again, and this time, when Zverev hits the baseline on the return, the change in bounce causes him to frame his riposte, and that\u2019s the break!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Righto, Cobolli to serve. Ready \u2026play.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Now here comes Zverev, looking less nervous than Cobolli. It\u2019s sunny, so we won\u2019t have our players stuck under a roof playing on wet mud, as happened in yesterday\u2019s men\u2019s doubles final.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Our players, in the locker room together, are ready \u2026 and here comes Cobolli. This is the biggest moment of his life: he\u2019ll never have experienced anything like this.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Five weeks ago, Cobolli beat Zverev 3 and 3 in the semis at Munich. It\u2019s true that, subsequently, the outcome was reversed in Madrid, but that was on a much faster court than Chatrier \u2013 which is more similar to the one in Germany.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n So how\u2019s it going to go? I\u2019d love to say Cobolli in five, but Zverev in four looks the likeliest outcome. His ability to serve himself out of difficult situations will, I think, be the difference.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n For my part, I think Cobolli needs to stick Zverev on his bike \u2013 rather than just hit winners, he needs to stop his his opponent planting feet. That means plenty of drop-shots \u2013 I think he can beat him at net \u2013 but also angled balls that break the sidelines and deep balls towards corners.<\/p>\n The opening ceremony ahead of the men\u2019s final, presumably not coming to Wimbledon any time soon. Photograph: Yoan Valat\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.15 EDT<\/p>\n In terms of how Cobolli beats Zverev, Coach Calv gets in touch to let us know: \u201cCobolli is a quality player. No stand out weaknesses. He can live with Zverev off the ground and even beat him. The men\u2019s game now they all play the same. There isn\u2019t much tactically. They\u2019re all baseline ball strikers and it\u2019s just whoever hits it better. It\u2019s a grim reality of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n This is a great stat: Zverev is the first player since Mats Wilander in 1988 whose opponent in the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final had never reached that stage before. Or, in other words, this tournament could not have gone more in his favour and, though he\u2019s not played especially close to his best, he\u2019s been more than good enough for those he\u2019s faced.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Almost. Because though, for Zverev, everything he\u2019s worked for and sacrificed is on the line here, he too doesn\u2019t know when he might work his way back to this stage; it might be next month but it might also be never, with neither hard to believe as an outcome. The more balls he retrieves, the more Zverev will have to go for to hit winners \u2013 or the more he\u2019ll retreat into safe play \u2013 and that is when he can pounce.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Quite a while ago now, Coach Calv Betton \u2013 whose charge, Henry Patten, lost in the final of the men\u2019s doubles yesterday \u2013 messaged to tell me he\u2019d seen a player. This is always exciting \u2013 others of whom I was advised early doors include Felix Auger-Aliassime, Carlos Alcaraz and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard \u2013 and he was sure Cobolli, for that was who it was, would develop into a top-10 talent.<\/p>\n Well, he\u2019s there now, and though grand slam finals are hard to come by in the Sincaraz era, I\u2019m not surprised to see him in one. If he plays well today, he can win this match \u2013 Zverev\u2019s forehand and volleying, though improved, are weaknesses \u2013 and for him, this is almost a free hit.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Also going on:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Salut \u00e0 tous et bienvenue \u00e0 Roland-Garros 2026 \u2013 dernier jour!<\/p>\n Broadly speaking, we invented sport because we wanted to know who was the fastest, the strongest and the best. But that was a while ago now, and the behemoth we nurtured now serves an entirely different purpose: in a fragmented, atomised, divided world, sport is company and in sport is community, a real-time, real-life friend and family. If we\u2019re sad, lonely or bored, we know sport has our back, caring, nurturing and teaching with gentle omnipresence, asking nothing in return. If we\u2019re happy, in company and engaged, we know sport has our back, caring, nurturing and teaching with gentle omnipresence, asking nothing in return.<\/p>\n For these reasons, even the worst sport is better than the best almost everything else \u2013 and verily has the French Open 2026<\/a> been not that. Over the last fortnight, we\u2019ve had bestowed upon us a succession of barely believable matches and outcomes, our days enriched and our existences affirmed by a raft of compelling stories that remind us how to feel, a joy shared across the world \u2013 so too the knowledge that we\u2019ll be talking about what we\u2019ve lived for as long as we live. That is a precious, restorative elixir to carry with us \u2026 but now we want the final we and the tournament deserve.<\/p>\n