Paris : Alexander Zverev etched his name into French Open history on Sunday by winning his maiden Grand Slam title and becoming the first German male player since Boris Becker to capture a major championship.
Zverev ended Germany’s 30-year wait for a men’s Grand Slam champion. Since Becker’s triumph at the 1996 Australian Open, no German male player had managed to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Breaks an 89-Year Record
In the French Open final, Zverev defeated Italy’s Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 to claim his first Grand Slam crown. With the victory, he also became the first German man in 89 years to win the French Open singles title.
The last German male champion at Roland Garros was Henner Henkel, who lifted the trophy in 1937.
German men have rarely enjoyed success at the Grand Slam level. Zverev is only the third German player in the Open Era (since 1968) to win a Grand Slam singles title, following Boris Becker and Michael Stich.
Becker won six major titles between 1985 and 1996, while Michael Stich captured the Wimbledon crown in 1991.
In the women’s singles competition, Russia’s Mirra Andreeva claimed the French Open title on Saturday.
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