Alexander Zverev beat Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 in the French Open final on Sunday to claim his first major championship.
The German, long considered one of the best players without a Grand Slam title, finally broke through at Roland Garros.
Cobolli, an Italian in his first major final, pushed the match to five sets but could not hold off Zverev in the decider.
Zverev, 29, had reached three previous Grand Slam finals without a win. This victory ends years of close calls and puts him alongside the sport’s top names. He becomes the first German man to win the French Open since Boris Becker in 1989.
The win came on clay, Zverev’s strongest surface, where he has also collected multiple Masters 1000 titles and Olympic gold. He will now move into the world’s top rankings with added confidence heading into the grass court season and Wimbledon.