Former world No 3 Ivan Ljubicic does not think Alexander Zverev’s 2026 French Open title will “change much” as he said the German “won a match he should have won” in the final.
Zverev defeated Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 in a tension-filled championship match lasting four hours and 16 minutes at Roland Garros last week.
The 29-year-old’s victory in Paris ended his wait for his maiden Grand Slam title after he had previously lost in three major finals.
Zverev, who is the world No 3, became the first German man to win the French Open in the Open Era and the first to secure a major in singles since Boris Becker in 1996.
Ljubicic assessed that Zverev’s triumph “doesn’t represent a technical or tactical transformation” and suggested it will not impact his ability to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
“I don’t think it will change much. Today, compared to the past, the result has changed for Sascha, but not his style of play,” Croatian was quoted as saying by We Love Tennis.
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“An important victory, certainly, but one that doesn’t represent a technical or tactical transformation for the German.
“He won a match he should have won, but Sinner and Alcaraz remain stronger.
“He will always be the first of the second-stringers, the one who, on the court, prefers to wait, but who, when he attacks, gives you no respite. The outcome of matches doesn’t always depend on him.”
Ljubicic, who won 10 ATP Tour singles titles during a career spanning from 1998 to 2012, coached tennis icon Roger Federer from 2015 until his retirement in 2022.
Andre Agassi issued a similar verdict after Alexander Zverev’s French Open win
Speaking on TNT Sports’ Roland Garros coverage, Agassi admitted that winning his maiden Grand Slam title changed “nothing” for him in terms of pressure.
“You can win a Slam… does it really change your life? You can say it, it’s easy to say, but I don’t know if it does,” said the eight-time major winner.
“We have had a lot of one Slam wonders, that have done some incredible — I’m sure they’re thrilled they won.
“When I finally got over the finish line [and won my first Grand Slam], I was let in on a dirty little secret: that winning changes nothing.
“You are gonna to have that pressure again if you have more expectations from yourself. So you gotta deal with it, you gotta bring it on Sunday like you did at the start of the tournament.”
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