Alexander Zverev receives unfortunate snub straight after winning Roland Garros
Alexander Zverev hit new heights at Roland Garros by confirming the very first Grand Slam victory of his career.
The German needed five sets to topple Flavio Cobolli in the Roland Garros final, which landed him his first Grand Slam title at the fourth attempt.
Zverev closed the gap on Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP rankings and he will now head into the grass court season buoyed by the biggest victory of his career.
Despite his long-awaited Grand Slam victory, Zverev received a bizarre snub from French publication L’Equipe straight after lifting the trophy.
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The French publication opted not to put Zverev on the cover of L’Equipe despite his monumental victory in Paris, which, in turn, breaks a 20-year streak.
For the past two decades, the men’s winner of Roland Garros has graced the cover of the iconic sports newspaper, so Zverev’s snub has brought an end to a lengthy streak.
Instead of Zverev’s Grand Slam victory, L’Equipe opted to put handball team Metz Women on the cover, after their victory over Gyor Audi ETO KC in the EHF Champions League Women.
Rafael Nadal has dominated the cover of L’Equipe in those last two decades, taking the prominent position 14 times between 2005 and 2022, the last time he won the Grand Slam.
Elsewhere, the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic have also been given the top position by L’Equipe in the last two decades.
Zverev’s snub is a strange decision, but it is very unlikely to both the new Roland Garros champion.
For years, the German has been tarnished with the unwanted description of: ‘the best tennis player to never win a Grand Slam.’
After his Roland Garros triumph, Zverev will have a significant weight off his back, so he could truly push on and win several more majors in his career.
However, Zverev next has to deal with the grass court season, which has notoriously been his weakest surface by some margin.
While the star has reached the final of the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and the US Open throughout his career, his best effort at Wimbledon is the fourth round.
He’s been knocked out at that stage of the tournament on three occasions, but he has never been able to make the last eight of the Grand Slam.
Zverev has never won a grass court title in his career and he currently holds a 66% win rate on the surface, having won 45 matches and lost 23.
The German has reached three ATP Tour finals on grass, at the Halle Open and the Stuttgart Open, but his campaign was ended by Florian Mayer, Roger Federer, and Taylor Fritz, respectively.
