Alexander Zverev was good value for the Roland Garros title, having been the best player over the two weeks, and the deserved champion.
However, Flavio Cobolli still deserves plenty of credit for his exploits in Paris as well.
This marks his best-ever run at a Grand Slam, having pushed the world number three all the way in the final before he simply seemed to run out of steam.
That being said, the Italian apparently did something midway through the match that Alexander Zverev argues actually helped him to claim the win.
Alexander Zverev claims Flavio Cobolli helped him during the Roland Garros final
Speaking to TNT Sports, the German was first asked to describe his emotions after seeing his flawless tiebreak record at Roland Garros falter at the end of the fourth set.
Zverev claimed: “It really helped me that he left for a bathroom break, and I kind of had five minutes because my legs kind of, you know, it got better. It was not cramping as much.
How many more Grand Slams does Alexander Zverev win now?
What a final!
“Then, as I said, I was a lot more relaxed. I was a lot more free in my head in the fifth set than I was the entire fourth set. And, yeah, again, I think I played probably my best set of the final, which was my fifth set.”
Then, asked by John Isner whether this maiden major title will free him from the nerves and anxiety that have crippled him in the past, he admitted: “Yeah, I think it’s definitely a huge stone that kind of is gone from my shoulders.
“I do feel like now, looking back, if I probably would have lost this final, I maybe would have never won a slam. But now that I’ve won this, it kind of changes.
“I feel more free; I feel like I’ve done it. And maybe in a way, I can enjoy these Grand Slams more, maybe I can enjoy these finals a bit more, play my best tennis and hopefully this is just a start.”
Jim Courier points out unusual Alexander Zverev moment in the final
Also speaking on TNT Sports, Jim Courier was offering his verdict on the match when he came to that fourth-set tiebreaker.
Asked if he backed Zverev after a fifth set was confirmed, the American admitted: “No, I didn’t. I thought Cobolli was gonna be able to ride it from there.”
He was swiftly proven wrong, and also gave his opinion on the 29-year-old being allowed to take medication from the side of the court from a member of his team in between games.
Courier had already pointed this unusual moment out during the match, and thus theorised: “Yeah, I mean, they look like those little energy tablets that a lot of European players have, like, little sucrose tablets, little sugar pills, effectively.
“He definitely, for the moment, was hurting, and it’s pretty unusual to see someone from the team leave the box and come court-side, but there’s nothing untoward about it.
“It’s obviously, you know, the trainer could have taken them and handed them to them, which is what I was expecting to happen. That was the only odd thing was that the trainers didn’t intervene.
“Zverev, thankfully for him in that fifth set, his body seemed to relax, and maybe it was the lead that allowed him to relax, because I think we all agree, we’ve seen him play a lot. He plays as long as you want, and he doesn’t cramp. This guy is incredibly fit and knows how to manage his energy levels out there, but stress is a debilitating factor.
“I think both of them were dealing with that, because they both came in very fresh, you know, Cobolli didn’t even play a semifinal, but the energy, mental energy that you can spend that can sap you pretty quickly.”
