Title: Cobolli Guarantees Italian Presence in French Open Final Four

Flavio Cobolli advanced to his first major semi-final by overcoming fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, ensuring that an Italian contender will contest the French Open title match on Sunday. The 10th seed mounted a comeback to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, and 6-4, setting up a quarter-final clash against either Matteo Berrettini or Matteo Arnaldi, who are scheduled to play each other later on Wednesday. This result guarantees an Italian finalist, a notable achievement following the surprising second-round elimination of heavy favorite Jannik Sinner.

"I don't care which Matteo is in the semi-finals," Cobolli stated after securing his victory. "It's been the best week of my life, but I'm still missing something, so I have to fight again."

The 24-year-old is poised to enter the top 10 for the first time on Monday, provided that Jakub Mensik does not win the title in Paris after facing Alexander Zverev in the other semi-final.

Both competitors began slowly amid blustery weather on Court Philippe Chatrier, with Auger-Aliassime capitalizing on the conditions to take the opening set 6-4 after breaking at 5-4. The atmosphere shifted once the roof was closed over the main court, improving playing conditions. However, Cobolli faced an early deficit in the second set, going a break down before rallying to win four consecutive games and level the match.

"I think we played two different matches today," Cobolli explained. "The first set was incredibly windy. It was really tough to play. I went to the toilet to think a bit. I tried to change something. I thought 'this is the best court I've played on in my life, because I can show my best tennis'. I said to myself to fight, this is the chance of my life and I must give everything in all my matches. So today I'm really happy."

Cobolli needed just a single break in each of the third and fourth sets to seal the win. The victory concluded a grueling three-hour and 24-minute match. With Auger-Aliassime’s exit, Cobolli and second seed Zverev stand as the sole top-10 seeds remaining in the men’s draw.

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-03 18:52:07 UTC