Alexander Zverev won his first Grand Slam title in dramatic fashion after winning in the French Open final.
Zverev beat Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6(5)-7, 6-1 to win his first major title after three previous final defeats.
The match was not short of drama, as Zverev appeared to struggle physically in the latter stages of the fourth set.
After overcoming these issues, Zverev has confirmed exactly what was happening to him during the French Open final.
Alexander Zverev claims cramping helped him win the French Open
Zverev spoke to two-time French Open champion Jim Courier for TNT Sports US after his victory in Paris, where he revealed that he was cramping in the fourth set.
The German confirmed that this happened to him due to nerves, with Zverev claiming that he had not cramped in 10 years.
Despite the physical setbacks cramping can cause, Zverev admitted that it actually helped him win the French Open title as he was then able to relax more.
“It kind of helped me mentally that I was cramping a bit,” said Zverev. “I was cramping because of emotional effort, I wasn’t cramping because of physical effort, I haven’t cramped in probably 10 years.
“I was very nervous, I was very kind of tightened up and then once I cramped, I relaxed and that helped me, and I felt like I played better in the fifth set, I played more free and I played more aggressive. Yeah, today I actually think I won because of the cramps.”
How many more Grand Slams does Alexander Zverev win now?
What a final!
What happened at a Grand Slam for the first time in 24 years after Alexander Zverev wins the French Open?
Zverev cramping was not the only unusual thing that happened in the men’s singles final at the French Open this year.
One of the big talking points was the number of upsets at the French Open this year, with the likes of world number one Jannik Sinner suffering early upsets in Paris.
As a result, Zverev did not play a single top 10 player throughout his run to the final, with Cobolli the highest ranked of his opponents as the world number 14.
This means that since 128-player draws were introduced in 1988, Zverev is just the second men’s singles player to win a Grand Slam title without facing a top 10 opponent.
The only other is Thomas Johansson, who now coaches Daniil Medvedev, with the Swede also avoiding top 10 players en route to his victory at the 2002 Australian Open.