Tennis, Cobolli overcomes Auger-Aliassime and flies to the semifinals
With the victory, Italia is certain to have an Italian tennis player in the final of the Paris tournament
by Carlo Festa
Flavio Cobolli beat Canadian Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and guaranteed Italia the presence of an Italian tennis player in the final in Paris. Cobolli won 4-6/6-4/6-4 and follows the winner of the match scheduled for the evening between Matteo Berrettini and Matteo Arnaldi into the semifinals.
Flavio Cobolli and Felix Auger-Aliassime came to this confrontation with two previous matches on the major circuit, both played on cement in 2024 and won by the Roman tennis player. This time, however, the context was completely different: the challenge was played on clay. The environmental context was difficult with strong gusts of wind that accompanied the entire first set.
The start smiled on Cobolli, who entered the court with great aggression and immediately managed to break the Canadian's serve. The advantage, however, was short-lived: Auger-Aliassime reacted promptly and obtained the counterbreak. On 4-4, Cobolli had an important break point but failed to exploit it; shortly afterwards he lost his service and handed the set to his opponent.
At the end of the first segment came a turning point that was destined to change the inertia of the match. With a storm approaching, the organisers decide to close the roof of the facility. From then on, the game was played indoors and the wind stopped influencing the game. In the second set, Auger-Aliassime increased the intensity of his strokes, took control of the exchanges and quickly flew to 3-1. But Cobolli again showed character qualities. The Italian reacted and raised the level of his serve noticeably. With four consecutive games, he completely overturned the score and with a 6-4, brought the match back to a perfect parity.
In the third set, the key moment came at 3-3: Cobolli broke Auger-Aliassime on serve and put himself ahead. It was not over yet, however, because in the next game he faced three break points. Cobolli saved himself at the end of a gruelling 23-stroke exchange, kept his advantage and closed the third set 6-4, completing the comeback.
