Flavio Cobolli faced his compatriot Jannik Sinner for the first time in the second round of the ATP 500 event in Vienna. World no. 2 bested Cobolli 6-2, 7-6 in an hour and 47 minutes for a place in the quater-final.
Flavio made a slow start but increased his pace in the second set. He denied three break points at 5-5 to introduce a tie break but fell short and propelled his good friend through.
The younger Italian admitted it was a privilege to share the court with the four-time Major winner. He called Sinner an extraterrestrial and described himself asa strong tennis player, despite the loss.
Jannik played better behind the second serve and kept his rival away from break points. Flavio played against six break points and suffered two breaks in the opening set.
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World no. 2 landed 14 winners and 29 unforced errors, while his rival fired 20 direct points. Cobolli matched Sinner in service winners and at the net, although the favorite had the upper hand from the baseline.
The 2023 champion drew the rival's mistake in the third game of the duel for an early break. The younger Italian sprayed a forehand error in the fifth game and fell further behind.
Jannik served for the set at 5-2 and converted the fourth set point, wrapping up the first part of the match in 45 minutes. Cobolli provided two holds at love early in the second set, already performing better than in the opener.
He saved a break point in the fifth game and remained on the positive side. Sinner made a push on the return in the 11th game and generated three break points.
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Flavio saved them and did well to introduce a tie break. He erased a 3-1 deficit before hitting a double fault at 3-4. Jannik generated match points and landed a service winner at 6-4 to emerge at the top.
"Stepping onto the court with Jannik was a privilege. He is an extraterrestrial. I think I kept him on his toes a bit, even if only for a short while. Today I realized I'm strong, and I enjoyed it," Flavio Cobolli said.
