Wimbledon: Flavio Cobolli Advances to the Round of 16 After a Fifth-Set Comeback
Flavio Cobolli has advanced to the round of 16 at Wimbledon for the second consecutive year. The Roman tennis player, born in 2002, defeated Russia’s Karen Khachanov after a four-hour battle with a score of 0-6, 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 6-2 6-2, and earned a matchup against Australian Alex de Minaur. This matchup promises intensity and a fast pace, pitting two players against each other for whom the word “give up” does not seem to be in their vocabulary.
The start belonged entirely to Khachanov, with Cobolli clearly struggling. In the opening minutes, the Italian struggled to find rhythm and precision, while the Russian imposed his power and consistency. The double break came quickly, and the set slipped away without a fight, ending 0-6 in just 18 minutes—partly due to Cobolli’s lack of decisiveness in his shot selection and execution.
After a break, Cobolli returned to the court with a different attitude, buoyed by the crowd and more effective in his rallies. The set turned into an almost perfect balance: few mistakes on either side and several hard-fought games. Both players create break opportunities without capitalizing on them, leading to a tiebreak. There, the Italian raises his level at key moments, secures the decisive mini-break, and closes it out 7-4, tying the match.
The third set is the most hard-fought and tense. Khachanov tries to regain control, but Cobolli responds shot for shot and creates important opportunities, especially at 3-2. The set remained in the balance until the very end, with the Russian also relying on a bit of luck (a net cord saved him at a critical moment) and managing to prevail in the tiebreak 7-5, after a series of extremely tight rallies and break points saved by both players.
Cobolli’s response came in the fourth set, where the Italian changed the pace and gradually took control of the rallies. After weathering Khachanov’s aggressive start, he broke serve and then secured another decisive break. The final score of 6-2 sent the match to a fifth set. In the decisive set, Cobolli appeared sharper and more consistent. At 2-2, he secured the break that turned the match around, then extended his lead to 5-2 by capitalizing on the Russian’s slump and closed out the match decisively on his second match point with a winning drop shot. After exactly four hours, his name is among the top 16 in the tournament.
