Tennis, Cobolli surrenders to Shelton in Monaco final

Expectations were high, especially after yesterday's success over Alexander Zverev, but Flavio Cobolli in the final of the Munich ATP 500 found an overly solid Ben Shelton who took the title, the fifth of his career, with relative ease. A little depleted at the end of the tournament, the Roman could nonetheless console himself with a nice step up in the ranking, reaching the 13th place and approaching the top 10 again. The score of 6-2, 7-5, after an hour and a half of play, well illustrates the course of the match between the two 23-year-olds.

Shelton got off to a rocket start, taking a 4-0 lead and then managed the situation to take the first point. Cobolli reacted in the second and did not lose his service again until 5-5, when he paid dearly for a double fault conceding the break to his rival, who did not hesitate to close the match in the next game.

Cobolli paid tribute to the American at the end, accepting the defeat (the fourth in a row in direct confrontations) with a smile and also recounting some nice behind-the-scenes stories: 'It has been an incredible week,' he said addressing Shelton. 'We spent it together also watching Bayern Munich's feat in the Champions League. Shelton, congratulations to you and your whole team: you are a great friend. I wish you all the best this season and hope to meet you again'. He then went on to thank the audience, which included his girlfriend. "Yesterday I called her, she is here, but having lost maybe it was better if she had stayed at home," he joked.

Shelton returned the compliments, also recalling how for the Italian 'it has been a difficult week from an emotional point of view'. A reference to the dramatic death of a young friend of the Roman tennis player, who, amidst tears, dedicated yesterday's victory over Zverev to him.

Cobolli will now travel to Spain to take part in the Madrid Masters 1000 to be held from 22 April to 3 May, the draw is tomorrow. Also expected at the tournament is Jannik Sinner who, after the Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo hat-trick, could be aiming for another top tournament success. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will not be in Madrid; without the presence of the world No. 1, the tournament would lose a lot of interest.