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.
Cobolli lost to 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2025 in four sets. This time, he will play Arthur Fery of Great Britain. The wild card reached the quarterfinals by upsetting Grigor Dimitrov on Centre Court, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(10-7).
In the midst of a fairy tale run at Wimbledon, Fery remained wide-eyed after winning the battle of wildcard entries with Roger Federer seated courtside.
“First time on this court, five sets against an absolute legend of the game,” Fery said. “I grew up five minutes from here. We’ve got probably the greatest of all-time in the front row watching. I saw him.”
Monday’s play lasted until curfew at 11 p.m. local time, and the final match of the night had yet to conclude. Germany’s Zverev and Czech up-and-comer Jiri Lehecka, the second and 13th seeds, were locked in a 3-3 battle in the third set after Zverev won the first two sets 6-4, 7-5.
The winner will face sixth-seeded American Taylor Fritz, who bounced Kazakh No. 10 seed Alexander Bublik 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-4.
Earlier Monday, 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 the 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.
–Field Level Media
