Flavio Cobolli, hard-earned victory: he is in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros
Flavio Cobolli opens the ninth day of Roland Garros 2026 in the best possible way for Italian tennis. Awaiting the challenges of the round of 16 of Matteo Berrettini and Matteo Arnaldi, it is the Roman to give the first Italian smile on the Parisian clay, conquering with authority the access to the quarterfinals after overcoming the U.S. Zachary Svajda.
On the prestigious Court Philippe-Chatrier, Cobolli confirmed his excellent moment of form by imposing himself 6-2, 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(5) at the end of a battle that lasted three hours and 19 minutes. The world number 14 dominated the first two sets thanks to aggressive and solid tennis, before suffering the reaction of the young American, who was good at reopening the match by winning the third partial at the tie-break.
In the fourth set, the Roman tennis player risked complicating his life, but in the decisive moments he was able to regain lucidity and quality, closing the file in a hard-fought tie-break and thus putting the seal on a performance of great maturity.
For Cobolli this is the second Slam quarterfinal of his career after the one reached at Wimbledon in 2025, when his path stopped against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. A result that confirms the steady growth of the 24-year-old Italian, who is increasingly a protagonist on the major circuit.
Awaiting him in the next round will be the winner of the challenge between Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime and Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, with the goal of continuing to dream on the courts of Roland Garros.
