Flavio Cobolli Won’t Make the Final in Cincinnati: Defeat Against Arthur Fils
Flavio Cobolli’s run ends in Cincinnati after reaching his first-ever Masters 1000 semifinal. After spending a total of nine hours on court in the previous rounds and staging two hard-fought comebacks against Spain’s Jodar in the round of 16 and Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals, the Roman player paid the price for his exertions against an Arthur Fils who was finally at the top of his game. The Frenchman prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and seven minutes, facing a Cobolli who was far from his usual energy level and the fighting spirit that had carried him throughout the week.
For the Italian, however, there is still great satisfaction: starting Monday, he will be No. 6 in the world in the ATP rankings, matching the best ranking achieved by his friend and Davis Cup teammate Matteo Berrettini, who reached the same position in 2021. The semifinal began a few minutes late due to a lightning warning, but once they took the court, the two players competed without any major interruptions. Cobolli started off on the right foot and, in the third game, secured the first break of the match thanks to two excellent deep returns that put Fils on the back foot.
The Frenchman’s reaction, however, was immediate. Coached by Goran Ivanisevic, Fils broke back by capitalizing on three errors by the Italian—two on the forehand and one on the backhand—who lost his serve to love, tying the score at 2-2. The match remained evenly matched until the eighth game, when Fils shifted gears, increasing the pace of the rallies and the power of his shots. This decisive surge allowed him to take a 5-3 lead and then close out the first set 6-3 after 35 minutes.
In the second set, Cobolli faced an uphill battle right from the start, losing his serve in the opening game. It was a deficit the Roman player was unable to overcome. As the minutes passed, the Italian’s energy waned further, while Fils grew increasingly confident, gradually raising his level of play and maintaining his lead until the final 6-4 score.
