Zverev vs Cobolli set for French Open final after Arnaldi withdraws with virus

2 min readUpdated: Jun 5, 2026 10:51 PM IST

Alexander Zverev will face Flavio Cobolli in the French Open final. (AP)

Alexander Zverev defeated 20-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the French Open semifinals on Friday and went one step closer to winning his first Grand Slam title. The second-seeded German will now face 14th-ranked Flavio Cobolli who was given a walkover by fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi who withdrew from the match on Friday due to a ⁠virus. This will be the Italian Cobolli’s first-ever Grand Slam final.

“It’s not ​what ​I wanted to ⁠do. Last night I started to feel unwell ‌and then at dinner I started to feel so, so in my stomach and then I woke up at 1am and started ⁠vomiting,” ⁠Arnaldi told reporters.

“I could not sleep at all. ⁠At ‌6-7 I vomited ​again and we called ‌the doctor to the room and he gave ‌me some ​stuff. ​But ​then throughout today I could not eat – every ​time I would eat ⁠or drink I would go back to the bathroom.”

It will be Zverev’s second French Open final, having wasted a lead of two sets to one against Alcaraz in the 2024 championship match.

“He beat so many unbelievable players. I knew it was going to be the toughest challenge that I had so far. And I managed. I won. I’m happy,” Zverev said.

Zverev has been an overwhelming favorite for the title ever since the top-ranked Sinner struggled in the first week’s heat wave and wasted a two set and 5-1 lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round.

Alcaraz, the two-time reigning champion, withdrew before the tournament with an injured right wrist.

The 27th-ranked Mensik, who was playing in his first Grand Slam semifinal, struggled with five double faults.

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Mensik overcame post-match cramps that landed him in a wheelchair last week, got past Andrey Rublev in five sets, and beat rising Brazilian Joao Fonseca in straight sets in the quarterfinals.

Zverev had an even bigger advantage – two sets to none – in the 2020 U.S. Open final and lost that one, too, to Dominic Thiem. He was also beaten in straight sets by Sinner in the 2025 Australian Open final.

(With agency inputs)