Jannik Sinner was two games away from the Italian Open final when heavy rain suspended his semi-final match against Daniil Medvedev, with Sinner leading 6-2, 5-7, 4-2.
Four years after leaving Roland Garros in a wheelchair with seven broken bones in his foot and two years after suffering the agony of being beaten in the Paris final by Carlos Alcaraz, Zverev finally claimed the trophy that had long eluded him.
Flavio Cobolli left everything on Court Philippe Chatrier as he chased a first Grand Slam title on Sunday, but the Italian admitted the pressure of playing on the biggest stage ultimately proved decisive in a heartbreaking defeat.
Alexander Zverev finally ended his long wait for a Grand Slam title by winning the French Open men's singles crown on Sunday, defeating Italy's Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 6-7(5), 6-1 in a keenly contested final.
'I've seen Federer and Nadal and they played a couple of good finals but nothing comes close to this.'
Together, the two young stars have now claimed seven out of the last eight Grand Slam titles.
Carlos Alcaraz had little trouble dismantling Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open final, to snap the world number one's 26-match winning streak.
With the 2011 edition of the prestigious tournament getting underway, Senior Associate Editor Bikash Mohapatra takes a look at a few players whose lone claim to fame came at the grass courts of the All England Club.
World number one Jannik Sinner produced a sublime semi-final display as he fought back from a set down to beat American Tommy Paul 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 on Friday to set up an Italian Open final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz.
It took 12 years of hard graft to finally realise her dream but Francesca Schiavone said the long wait made her French Open title taste even sweeter.
He may have entered the semifinal as the underdog, but Jannik Sinner's stunning victory over overwhelming favourite Novak Djokovic left the Melbourne crowd shocked.
Jannik Sinner bounced back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev and win his maiden Grand Slam title.
Thiem had already sealed a place in the semi-finals after group wins against Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, while Berrettini could not progress.
No Italian man has won a Grand Slam since Adriano Panatta triumphed at Roland Garros in 1976 and if there is any chance that Sinner, Musetti or Berrettini will lift the Musketeers Cup this year, they will face their biggest obstacles in the next round when they take on the might of Nadal, Djokovic and Federer respectively.
Andrea Binaghi, who has headed the Italian tennis federation (FITP) since 2001, pointed to reforms over the last 10-15 years to decentralise the coaching system and offer more financial, technical and psychological support to young talent.
The 6-foot-5 frame of Matteo Berrettini will be standing in the way of Novak Djokovic's relentless pursuit of hoarding as many tennis milestones as possible when the two meet in a Wimbledon final where both men will be eyeing the record books.
His third straight triumph at the All England Club also earned the Serbian a 20th Grand Slam title
The big-serving seventh seed, who has flown somewhat under the radar throughout the Championships, will meet the winner of the second semi-final between Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Canadia's Denis Shapovalov in Sunday's final.
List of French Open men's singles champions:
Images from Day 8 of the 2022 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday.
List of French Open men's singles champions:
The 2nd major of the year, the French Open will start on the weekend. With the clay-court grand slam starting on Sunday, here is the list of French Open champions over the years
Images from Day 3 of the 2020 French Open at Roland Garros, in Paris, on Tuesday.
IMAGES from matches on Day 8 at the French Open
IMAGES from matches played on Day 7 of the French Open at the Roland Garros in Paris on Saturday
