Alexander Zverev finally leapt over the Grand Slam hurdle in June when he won the Roland Garros title for the first time.
Zverev, then widely considered to be one of the best players never to have won a major title, defeated Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 in Paris.
The German almost won two Grand Slams in a row, but was stopped in the Wimbledon final by Jannik Sinner.
Who is now the best active ATP player without a Grand Slam title after Alexander Zverev’s French Open victory?
Following Zverev’s triumph in the French capital, Patrick Mouratoglou has attempted to answer one pertinent question.
Who is the best male player to have never won a Grand Slam?
Patrick Mouratoglou names David Nalbandian as the best male player to have never won a Grand Slam
“Who are the best players in the world who have never won a Grand Slam?” Mouratoglou, the former coach of Serena Williams, said on Instagram. “Zverev was my number one. Now, who’s left?
“I would say number three, Marcelo Rios. Because he was number one in the world, because he played a final against Korda, but never won a Slam.
“Number two, Guillermo Coria.
At this time, he was dominating so much clay. Played a final and was in Roland Garros. Had two match points. Seemed like the match was his.
“Ended up losing it. Never ever was in a final of a Grand Slam after that.”
Coria, the former world number three and a winner of nine clay-court ATP titles, was beaten in the 2004 French Open final by compatriot Gaston Gaudio, 0–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1, 8–6.
Coria competed in Paris on two more occasions after 2004: in 2005 and 2008.
His 2005 campaign came to an end against 12th seed Nikolay Davydenko in the fourth round.
Four years later, Coria lost in the first round to Tommy Robredo in what was his final Grand Slam event.
“Number one David Nalbandian,” Mouratoglou continued. “Played a final also of a Grand Slam in Wimbledon against Hewitt. But more than that, he won so many tournaments.
“He beat all the best players in the world and actually is the only one who won a Masters 1000, beating number one, number two, and number three in the same tournament.
“And those three guys were no more than Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.”
As alluded to by Mouratoglou, Nalbandian is famously the only player in tennis history to defeat Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic at the same ATP event.
At the 2007 Madrid Open, Nalbandian beat Nadal 6-1, 6-2 in the quarter-finals. He then knocked out Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
The Argentine continued his dominance in the final, winning 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 against Roger Federer.
David Nalbandian’s best Grand Slam performance
Nalbandian qualified for one Grand Slam final: at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships.
Nalbandian, seeded 28th, defeated Nicolás Lapentti and Xavier Malisee en route to the final in London.
There, he faced world number one Lleyton Hewitt.
Who do you think is more likely to win another Grand Slam out of Novak Djokovic & Alexander Zverev? 🤔
Hewitt, comfortably defeated Nalbandian 6-1, 6-3, 6-2; capturing his second major title.
“Wow, it’s unbelievable. I don’t know what to say,” Hewitt told reporters during his post-match press conference.
“You’re serving for the match there, sitting at the change of ends, trying to think if this is actually real, if I was playing the first round of Wimbledon or the final out there.
“To get 40-Love up there, have another squeeze at the scoreboard to make sure I didn’t celebrate too early.”
Nalbandian admitted he was nervous at the start of the match, before crediting Hewitt on his performance.
“Yeah, a little bit when we started,” the Argentine said of his nerves. “But I think Lleyton, he play very good today. He didn’t missed any shots. He play great.
“Well, for me it’s not easy, no, play finals my first time here. But I think he’s a good winner.”
