PARIS (AP) — His calf muscles and thighs hit by cramp, Flavio Cobolli’s body could no longer respond in the fifth set of the French Open final.
A first-time Grand Slam finalist, the 24-year-old Italian looked on the verge of a major upset on Sunday before losing in five sets — 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 — to second-seeded Alexander Zverev, who claimed his first major title on the Parisian red clay.
Renowned for his exceptional athleticism, Cobolli hit Zverev hard with his big forehand and, although he committed a lot of unforced errors — 65 — his high-risk approach pushed his German opponent deep into the match and into a fifth set.
But his body let him down.
“I felt cramps on my calf,” said Cobolli, who left the court after winning the fourth-set tiebreaker. “I tried all my best on the changeover. I took all five minutes. But, you know, my calf was gone."
After Zverev took a 2-0 lead in the fifth set, Cobolli said he also had problems with a quad and “felt completely tired.”
“You know, my body left me on the court,” added Cobolli, who was a talented soccer player and a member of Roma’s youth club until he decided to focus full-time on tennis.
Cobolli said his inexperience also added pressure on his shoulders against Zverev, who played his fourth major final.
“It’s never easy to play for the first time on this stage, on these kind of matches,” he said.
Cobolli sat pensively on his chair after the match but managed to quickly refocus on the huge achievement accomplished over the past two weeks at Roland Garros.
"I certainly have more self-confidence than when this Grand Slam began,” he said, adding that by reaching the final he’s a step closer to his main goal for this season: qualifying for the ATP Finals.
“That’s been my goal since the start of the year,” he said.
‘Only the start’
Cobolli entered the Top 100 in 2023, the same season he competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals. Less than a year later he entered the Top 50, before breaking into the Top 20 last year.
He had never won a match on a center court at a Grand Slam until he beat American player Learner Tien in straight sets in the third round. In Paris, he also won a big match against fourth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals.
“I started to play tennis when I was young and I never expected this kind of result," he said. "Now that I am here I just want to make possible something special. For me it’s not done, it’s only the start. I’m still young.”
Cobolli, who will rise to a career-high 10th in the rankings on Monday, was aiming to become only the fourth Italian man to win a Grand Slam singles event, after Adriano Panatta, Nicola Pietrangeli and Jannik Sinner.
He promised he will try again.
“When you reach the first final, why not the second?” Cobolli said after watching Panatta hand the trophy to Zverev. Panatta awarded the men’s singles trophy on Sunday in recognition of the 50th anniversary of his French Open title.
“I have to work a lot, enjoy this journey," Cobolli said. "Maybe if I work and enjoy a mix of things, maybe I will reach again the final."
___
AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire and Andrew Dampf contributed to this story.
