Every word Flavio Cobolli said after French Open final loss to Alexander Zverev
Flavio Cobolli has explained why he feels Alexander Zverev deserved to win the 2026 French Open after losing to the German in the final at Roland Garros.
The 24-year-old Italian fell 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5), 1-6 to Zverev on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday in his first-ever Grand Slam championship match.
Here is everything Cobolli said in his press conference after the final in Paris.
Q. Flavio, bad luck today, but how do you look back at two amazing weeks and your first Grand Slam final?
COBOLLI: “First of all, I want to say congrats to Sascha for this title. I think he deserves it, and I also think today he deserved it more than me, at the end of the match.
“But I want to say also thanks to me for what I did in these two weeks. I never expected all my life this kind of result, and I’m so proud of myself.
“So now, I just wanna have a great smile and enjoy the night with the friends, with the people that I love. I think in this room, no one expected [this] of me. So I have to be proud of myself, and try and try and try again.”
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Q. In the fifth set, did you feel particularly tired or exhausted after the two weeks you’ve had here?
COBOLLI: “After the fourth set, on the 6-4 on the tiebreak, I felt cramps on my calf, so I tried all my best on the changeover, I took all five minutes. but my calf was gone.
“And after the second game, also my quad. I felt completely tired and my body leave me on the court.”
Q. I would like to know if, when you say that he deserves more than you, why do you think so, because it was so close?
COBOLLI: “Because at the end he won so… at the end, he deserved more than me,”
“But also I said he deserved because Sascha is here since for 10 years, and he made a lot of great results and I think he deserves a Grand Slam for what he did in his career.
“Today I felt a little bit pressure, maybe more than him, but I also am happy for how I played the first final of my Grand Slam. It’s never easy to play the first time on this stage, these kind of matches.
“So, I said he deserved it more than me just because, of course, he won, but also for what he did in his career.”
Q. Were you aware that maybe he was going through some physical stuff as well? Did that give you any kind of comfort?
COBOLLI: “I felt a bit that also he was tired, but I think he took a little bit more time than me and maybe it helped.
“But like I said before, it’s 10 years that he stayed here and maybe he knows better than me, the crucial point, what he has to do. But I think also, he was more fresh than me in the fifth. So at the end, it was like this.”
Q. Flavio, the fourth set, the tiebreak, those last two points, you missed an apparently easy volley, then you hit an incredible forehand. What crossed through your mind?
COBOLLI: “I just closed my eyes.”
Q. In both points, or just in the first?
Maybe in both (smiling). But you know, I felt tired on the tiebreak, but I also felt the — I said on myself, ‘Go, go for it, and maybe go in and you win the set, and then let’s see what happen on the fifth.’
“But, yeah, I just closed my eyes, I think. It sometimes helps.”
Q. Just wondered how close you think you are to fulfilling your potential? How close to your best level you are right now, and how much you think you’ll be back in Grand Slam finals?
COBOLLI: “This is something that you cannot predict, but I will try, like I said before, I will try and try and try, but when you reach the first final, why not the second?
“At the end, I think I deserve to be here on these weeks. Maybe not in the next 10, 15 Slams, but like I said also in the ceremony, I’m still young, so I have to do work a lot, enjoy this journey, and maybe if I work and enjoy, and a mix of things, maybe I will reach again the final.”
