ALEXANDER ZVEREV is the newest Grand Slam champion, becoming just the third person to defeat Rafael Nadal on court at Roland Garros. The seventh seed German won in a come-from-behind five-set epic battle in the fantasy tennis tournament final, 5-7 6-3 3-6 6-2 7-5 in four hours and 45 minutes. It was fittingly the longest match of the tournament, and saved its best for last.

The first set was an evenly matched one that lasted more than an hour of clean hitting. Both players seemed to be serving fairly strongly, but it was the tournament favourite who got the upper hand late in the set to take a crucial break and then win the set, 7-5. Bouncing immediately back with a fierce determination, Zverev broke twice in the second set to level the match, raising his first serve percentage to more than 80 as he started to show he belonged in the Grand Slam company.

Not to be outdone, Nadal went to another level in the third set, returning the favour to the German by breaking twice and taking the set 6-3. By winning the third, Nadal moved two sets to one, to be just one set away from winning a remarkable 13th crown. But Zverev was not going to go away willingly. He stepped it up to another level in the fourth, playing some inspired tennis and hitting more than 30 winners on his way to a huge 6-2 set and levelling the match at two sets apiece.

As if fittingly, the end of the longest and most epic match of the tournament had a grandstand finish. Neither player was willing to give an inch, but both were able to show off plenty of tricks across the court in the 90-minute extravaganza of skill and shot play. Despite having an early break, Zverev had to settle once the world number one broke back to level at 5-5, before Zverev broke immediately back to 6-5 up, then tentatively held serve despite having three match points and needing all three before saluting with a terrific forehand to force a Nadal error.

The win meant it was Zverev’s 12th career title, and first ever Grand Slam, as well as his first win over Nadal on clay, and second consecutive win over the world number one. Some people might believe 13 is an unlucky number and perhaps it played a part in Nadal narrowly missing out on toppling his own record with a 13th Roland Garros crown.

FINAL RESULT:

[7] Alexander Zverev (GER) defeated [1] Rafael Nadal (ESP) 5-7 6-3 3-6 6-2 7-5