Djokovic Pays Tribute to Zverev’s Major Breakthrough
By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, June 8, 2026
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Forced to a fifth set in the Roland Garros final, Alexander Zverev unleashed a roaring close to capture his maiden major and mute his most vocal critics.
Tagged with the label of best player to never win a Grand Slam title that clung to him as tightly as a tattoo, Zverev took Court Chatrier for his fourth Grand Slam final after three painful near-misses. Among those gut-wrenching Grand Slam final defeats: Zverev tightening up and blowing a two-set lead in a 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(6) defeat to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open final and the German squandering a two-sets-to-one lead over Carlos Alcaraz falling in the 2024 Roland Garros final.
The second-seeded Zverev slayed some demons of doubt with his five-set win over 10th-seeded Italian Flavio Cobolli yesterday.
Today, Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic, a long-time Zverev friend, paid tribute to Zverev’s resilience and credited his Olympic gold-medal champion predecessor for “shutting down critics who thought you would never win a Grand Slam” in an Instagram post tribute.
Reflecting on the 19 years he’s known the 29-year-old Zverev, Djokovic commended the second-seeded German and his family for never giving up their Grand Slam dream.
“Seeing the tears of joy you had together with your parents, brother and other team members made me emotional,” Djokovic posted on Instagram. “I’m happy that you made it and you absolutely deserve this success because you have worked so hard on every front to make it happen. Enjoy it.”
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