Alexander Zverev has finally got over the line in a Grand Slam final, claiming his first major title at the French Open.
Zverev beat Flavio Cobolli in the final of the clay-court Grand Slam, triumphing 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5-7), 6-1 in Paris.
The iconic Philippe Chatrier played host to the French Open final, with those watching on treated to an epic encounter between Zverev and Cobolli.
But it was the German who won the physical and mental battle, ending his lengthy drought for a Grand Slam title after three final failures.
Fittingly, the success has now been contextualized by former ATP number one Andy Roddick, who won one of his five major finals.
Prove me wrong – Alexander Zverev will win multiple Grand Slam titles now
He's finally got his first!
Andy Roddick recalls private phone call with Alexander Zverev
Speaking on his Served podcast after the French Open final, Roddick recalled a private talk he had with Zverev late last year.
“I talked to him in December,” he said. “I don’t know him from anything. I have said hello and he has always been friendly, he likes our show.
“I didn’t know what to expect from the conversation. I think he has been polarising at times during his career.
“I have had a lot of players reach out about different opportunities and it always goes through an agent or a second person, and these are people ranked 40 in the world.
“It’s like just call me yourself. He got my number I think from [John] Isner and said hey can we talk in the next couple of days. I said tomorrow is great and we talked for an hour and a half about tennis.
“He established the fact that anything was inbounds conversationally. He said first ‘I completely choked the 2020 US Open final away and now I don’t want to hit a kick serve, I want to hit bombs’.
“He has found a way around a lot of these stress tests. And he knew the reality that the rest of us did, he said I know the fact that I am going to be defined on whether I can beat these guys on Friday and Sunday at a major.
“There is no room for nuance with how my career will be digested and I want to figure out how to get to the finish line.
“He was amazingly honest. I don’t know if that’s because I have also wanted to win Grand Slams and come up short.
“He was asking great questions, he was completely open to feedback. Then it goes through a filter that I can think and he might not feel.
“But he was so open with what he likes to do and what he struggles with and it was a lot of the things we mentioned.
“A lot of us live in denial. I was pleasantly surprised at the conversation. I really enjoyed it and also I thought to myself the first step of solving any problem is acknowledging it.”
Alexander Zverev could go one of two ways after French Open title
It was a fantastic run from Zverev, who certainly made the most of the advantageous situation he found himself in.
Carlos Alcaraz missed the tournament through injury, while the shock exits of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic paved the way for a new champion.
And despite being under immense pressure to be that player, Zverev did not let the occasion get the better of him.
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The question can now be asked of just what this success does for the 29-year-old German in terms of the rest of his career.
It may really motivate him to replicate the feeling of delight by winning more Grand Slam titles, or he may just slow down, safe in the knowledge that he can retire as a major champion.
That may be enough for him at this stage of his career, with his main rivals Sinner and Alcaraz certain to bounce back in spectacular fashion.
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