Cobolli saves 3 MPs, upsets home favourite Paul in Cincinnati

Flavio Cobolli battled back from the brink to notch a milestone win on Monday afternoon at the Cincinnati Open.

The 22-year-old Italian saved three match points en route to a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 upset of home favourite Tommy Paul at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Ohio. Cobolli held firm under severe pressure from Paul in the 10th game of the deciding set, when he recovered from 15/40 to hold serve and avoid defeat. He then crucially broke Paul’s serve in the next game, before serving out for a two-hour, six-minute triumph.

His first-round victory against World No. 13 Paul was Cobolli’s biggest by PIF ATP Ranking, although the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF competitor arrived in Cincinnati with some good recent pedigree against Top 20 opponents. He defeated 14th-ranked Ben Shelton en route to his maiden ATP Tour final in Washington two weeks ago, before defeating 19th-ranked Felix Auger-Aliassime in Montreal last week.

Cobolli 🤝 Cinci 🙌

He takes down home hope Paul with a 6-2 4-6 7-5 win 🔥@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/pygjnT8Kjb

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 12, 2024

Cobolli made a rapid start to his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Paul but was later forced to rally from 1-3 in the decider and then save the three match points in the 10th game of the third set. The Italian completed his win having struck 25 winners to his opponent’s 15, and he converted six of 12 break points he earned in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Having started 2024 as the World No. 101, Cobolli is now up to No. 30 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings after clinching his sixth Masters 1000 match win of the year. Next up for the Italian at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, where he is making his tournament debut, is a second-round clash against Alejandro Tabilo or countryman Luciano Darderi.

Paul was seeking a deep run in Cincinnati this week as he chases a maiden appearance at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals. The American lifted his first ATP 500 trophy at the Queen's Club in June and then reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, but he won just one match across Montreal and Cincinnati. The 27-year-old is currently 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and he remains 370 points behind eighth-placed Alex de Minaur, who currently occupies the final qualification spot.