Toronto, for Flavio Cobolli bitter eighths and controversial tail: Ben Shelton explains the'heated discussion
There will be no Italian in the quarterfinals of the Toronto Masters 1000: Flavio Cobolli was in fact eliminated in the round of 16, played on the Italian night between Sunday and Monday, by Ben Shelton, after a battle that came close to two and a half hours of play and was decided by the tie-break at the conclusion of the third set.
6-4, 4-6, 7-6(1) the score of a match that experienced a controversial coda: after the point that gave the victory to the U.S., the two tennis players on the court began a rather heated discussion under the net, which saw Shelton complain first and Cobolli react harshly with words, before arriving at a cold handshake.
In the press conference, after the match, Shelton himself explained what happened:“He made a gesture, during the tie-break, that I did not like and I asked him for an explanation. He told me it wasn”t aimed directly at me, so it”s okay,” said the American, who in the quarterfinals will face Alex de Minaur, executioner in the round of 16 of another American, Frances Tiafoe.
For Flavio Cobolli, therefore, the possibility of a trio of tournaments won in 2025 fades for now, after those of Bucharest and Hamburg, both on clay. After excellent performances in Hopman Cup (three wins out of three singles matches), came eliminations in the round of 16 in both Washington, against Tiafoe, and in Toronto against Shelton.
