Italian Flavio Cobolli reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the second year in a row, defeating Australia’s Alex de Minaur 7-5, 7-6 (4) 6-3 on Monday in London.
Cobolli, the No. 9 seed, is in the midst of a breakout season, climbing into the top 10 of the rankings. The 24-year-old reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open in June, losing to Alexander Zverev in Paris in five sets.
On the grass court on Monday, the players zipped through the first set on serve until de Minaur, the No. 5 seed, faltered while serving with the set tied at 5-5. Cobolli broke the Australian, then served out to take the set.
In sweltering heat that neared 90 degrees, Cobolli fended off three break points in third game of the second set. But de Minaur cashed in on the fourth attempt to go up 2-1, only to give the advantage back in the next game.
The Australian went up a break at 4-2, served for a 5-2 lead, then lost three games in a row to eventually wind up in a tiebreaker.
Down a break quickly in the third set, Cobolli used long games and multiple deuces to tire de Minaur. Cobolli regained the advantage when de Minaur couldn’t hold serve on his final two service games.
After the match, Cobolli said he and his traveling party weren’t prepared for a quarterfinal run. Their housing accommodations ended Monday, and they needed a new place to stay.
“My grandfather help us to found a solution for tonight. But we found solution for all the week, I hope,” he said.
“An Italian family give us all the house here in Wimbledon, so it’s really cool.
“I will say thanks to them when I see them.”
Cobolli began the season as the world No. 20 and now stands at No. 10. The Monday match was the first between men ranked in the top 10 at Wimbledon this year.
Heading into Wimbledon, Cobolli had entered only one grass-court event and lost in the first round to American Frances Tiafoe in Halle.
Cobolli lost to 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2025 in four sets. This time, he will play the winner of the later match between Grigor Dmitrov of Bulgaria and Arthur Fery of Great Britain.
–Field Level Media
