EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsPARIS -- After one of the most dramatic French Opens in recent history, with a string of surprises and stunning upsets, the men's event comes down to this: Alexander Zverev will take on Flavio Cobolli in the championship decider Sunday -- two players in the top 10 in the live rankings, each vying for his first Grand Slam title.The gap in experience is vast. Second-seeded Zverev is into his fourth Grand Slam final after a four-set win over Jakub Mensik on Friday, while Cobolli, who received a walkover into the final after Matteo Arnaldi's late withdrawal, had been to only one quarterfinal in a major until this week.Cobolli will be fresh after 3 days off, but Zverev has been waiting for this moment for several years.Here's how both men can win, and who might come out on top.Why Zverev will winIt's his time. This will be the German's fourth Grand Slam final and, with the exception of the first one, when he faltered two points from victory against Dominic Thiem at the US Open in 2020, he has done little wrong in the others.There have been times, especially when he was crushed by Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final last year, when Zverev wondered if he would ever get another chance. But here he is, the last big name standing in a tournament where all the other big names have gone.Zverev has dropped just two sets on his way to the final and has looked good throughout the fortnight. A few years ago, his second serve was a weakness; now it's a strength, with his total of 66% of points won on second serve the third best in the event. He's third in points won on serve +1, finishing the point with his first shot after a serve, and he has coped well with everything that has been thrown at him, taking out the new Spanish sensation, Rafael Jodar, in the quarters and then Mensik in the semis.With no Carlos Alcaraz in the event and Sinner and Novak Djokovic going out in rounds 2 and 3, respectively, Zverev has done exactly what he needed to, not expending too much energy on his way to a fourth Slam final.This is his biggest chance to win a major, and he's not about to let it slip.Why Cobolli will winBecause he's fresh and because clay is his best surface.Cobolli has dropped just two sets on the way to his first final. A quarterfinalist on grass at Wimbledon last summer, the Italian reached the final in Hamburg, beating Zverev in the semifinals, a win that will give him belief.Though he lost to Zverev in Madrid, the fact that he will have had three full days off by the time the final begins has to be in his favor. Clay-court tennis is so grueling, but he has avoided the really long matches, and not having to endure what promised to be another epic battle with Arnaldi means he will go into the final with added pep in his step.The achievements of Sinner have overshadowed every other Italian's efforts in the past couple of years, but the way Cobolli played against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarters, weathering the storm after trailing by a set and a break, bodes well.Two of his three ATP titles have come on clay, and the fact that he has actually beaten Zverev will be a huge factor as he steps onto the court for a first Grand Slam final, something that should reduce the nerves he will undoubtedly experience.The crowd is also likely to be on his side, and, as the underdog, he will know the pressure is on Zverev to win the title. He has the variety, the persistence and the court craft to get it done.Who will win?It all depends on how Zverev handles the occasion. Having lost his three Slam finals, he knows he will probably never have a better chance, but that brings its own pressure.Zverev has been there or thereabouts for a long time, and finally the door has opened in his favor. For the first time, he plays someone who has not been to a Slam final before and he's been playing with a calmness that suggests he will handle the stress. He also leads 3-1 in their head-to-heads, though it's 1-1 this year, both on clay.But Cobolli has earned his place in the top 10 and is an Italian with a clay-court pedigree, a man who knows the ins and outs of playing on this surface, how to pull opponents into places they don't want to be.If the roof is off, that could also help the Italian. Wind would make life more difficult for Zverev, with his high ball toss, while Cobolli doesn't rely on power for success. It could be a long match.
