Roland Garros, Paris awaits the new king. Cobolli time

Paris awaits a new king and does so with bated breath, wrapped in that electric atmosphere that only the red earth of Court Philippe-Chatrier he knows how to generate when the history of tennis is on the verge of being rewritten.

The one between Flavio Cobolli e Alexander Zverev it is not simply the concluding act of Roland Garrosbut an unprecedented final, where neither of the two contenders has ever tasted the thrill of lifting a trophy of the Grand Slam.

Opportunity of a lifetime for Cobolli

For the young Italian, current number 14 of the ranking mondialethis is unquestionably the opportunity of a lifetime, the train that passes only once and which requires the courage of great champions to catch on the fly.

The path to the final

Cobolli presents himself at the most important event of his career after having digested the bitterness of three Major finals lost in the youth categories, wounds that have forged his character and which today are transformed into clean fuel to chase the first Slam title of his competitive life.

The path of the Roman tennis player in the shadow of Tour Eiffel he was close to perfection, a clear path in which he conceded crumbs to his opponents, leaving only two sets on the way and showing impressive tactical maturity and mental solidity, qualities that allowed him to capitalize on every situation to the maximum, including the fortunate but deserved pass obtained thanks to the dramatic withdrawal of his compatriot Matteo Arnaldi in the semifinals.

Zverev favorite on the eve

On the other side of the net, blocking his way, there will be the German giant Alexander Zverev. The number 3 in the world enters the Parisian arena with the underdogs and with the weight of a frightening pressure on his shoulders, aware that the precedents see him leading 3-1 against the blue.

Zverev is a veteran of these latitudes, a player with devastating tennis who makes the combination of a TNT serve and a flat-impact two-handed backhand his weapons of mass destruction.

The precedents between the two

The last direct clash, which took place on the clay of Madridsaw the Teutonic player impose himself with authority, but the historical memory of this rivalry hides a recent crack in the favorite’s wall of certainties.

Just two weeks before the Madrid tournament, in fact, on the red and heavy pitches of MonacoCobolli had succeeded in undermining the German’s certainties, inflicting on him a very heavy defeat with a clear and peremptory success in two sets which demonstrated to the world how the blue’s varied, geometric and profound tennis can do terrible harm to Zverev’s linear defence.

The tactical key to the match

From a purely technical and tactical point of view, the challenge promises to be a chessboard of very high competitive intensity. Cobolli will have to be able to vary the trajectories, exasperating the rotations in top-spin to take away time from the opponent and force him to hit outside the comfort zone, avoiding giving him central and weightless balls that Zverev could transform into lethal accelerations along the lines.

The blue’s ability to withstand the impact of the German’s first serve and to open up the court with his forehand volley will be the key to the match. There are no more margins for error, there are no appeals: the Musketeers Cup it is on the table, lucid and desired, ready to be linked forever to the name of a new, unforgettable sovereign.