Zverev and Cobolli to Compete for Their First Roland Garros Title in Head-to-Head Final. For the first time in years, the Roland Garros men's final in Paris will take place without a former champion. Alexander Zverev and Flavio Cobolli, both friends and rivals, will face off for their first major title.
An unusual men's Roland Garros final has taken shape in Paris: for the first time in recent years, the title is guaranteed to go to a new champion. Alexander Zverev and Flavio Cobolli, who are open about their friendship, will face each other on court as rivals to compete for their first-ever Grand Slam trophy.
The two tennis players have already met on clay this season: Cobolli came out on top in Munich, while Zverev took his revenge in Madrid. Their acquaintance began at the Laver Cup 2024, where they played together on Team Europe. Since then, according to Zverev, a relationship of trust has developed between them, and their fathers, who are also their coaches, keep in touch off the court.
Despite their friendship, both athletes emphasize that personal relationships will not matter in the final. Zverev, who has failed to win a Grand Slam final three times, notes that at this stage emotions take a back seat—the result is all that matters. Cobolli, playing in his first deciding match, reached the final after his fellow countryman Matteo Arnaldi withdrew from the semifinal due to illness.
The tournament draw was wide open this year: reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz was absent due to injury, and top favorite Jannik Sinner was unexpectedly knocked out in the second round. After 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic exited the competition, it became clear the title would go to a newcomer. Zverev, long regarded as a future champion, now has an opportunity he cannot afford to miss.
In the past, Zverev has suffered painful defeats in finals: at the 2020 US Open, he lost to Dominic Thiem, and at Roland Garros 2024 and Australian Open 2025, he was unable to overcome Alcaraz and Sinner, respectively. However, the German tennis player now claims that those failures are behind him and he is fully focused on his game. In recent matches, Zverev has looked confident, defeating Spain's Rafael Jodar and Czech Jakub Mensik.
Flavio Cobolli, on the other hand, has reached this stage of the tournament in Paris for the first time. The Italian admits he feels no pressure and tries to maintain a sense of lightness, as he did in childhood. He also notes that he follows certain rituals: dining at the same restaurant, thanking the crowd in French, and using the shower where Rafael Nadal used to prepare for his matches.
Interestingly, this season's European clay court stretch has resisted straightforward predictions: Cobolli reached the final in Munich and the quarterfinals in Madrid, but exited early in Rome and Hamburg. Now he is in the spotlight, even though he had never before progressed beyond the third round at Roland Garros.
Tennis finals featuring friends and rivals are not uncommon. For example, in football, similar situations also occur: recently a match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield showed how personal relationships take a back seat when it comes to results.
For reference: Roland Garros is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, held in Paris since 1891. In recent years, the men's title has most often been contested by Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer. In 2026, for the first time in a long while, none of them reached the final, highlighting a generational shift in world tennis.
