PARIS — An Italian is set to light up the French Open final, but it’s not Jannik Sinner stepping forward.
And it’s not Lorenzo Musetti, either.
Flavio Cobolli triumphed over Felix Auger-Aliassime with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday, marking his inaugural Grand Slam semifinal appearance. Next up, he’ll face one of two fellow Italians, Matteo Arnaldi or Matteo Berrettini, who are in action later. This means that either Cobolli or someone named Matteo will vie for the coveted title on Sunday.
“It’s a Matteo in the semifinal with me, two of my close friends from the tour,” Cobolli remarked.
Unlike last year, where Sinner and Musetti reached the last four from opposite sides of the draw, Friday’s matchup will mark the first all-Italian men’s semifinal in the history of Grand Slams.
It’s been a remarkable 50 years since an Italian man last hoisted the French Open trophy, and 1976 champion Adriano Panatta was invited to present this year’s Coupe des Mousquetaires.
Cobolli hails from the same legendary tennis club in Rome as Panatta—the Tennis Club Parioli.
In the other semifinal, the second-seeded Alexander Zverev will clash with No. 26 Jakub Mensik.
As Italian tennis continues to thrive, the 14th-ranked Cobolli, alongside Arnaldi at No. 104 and Berrettini at No. 105, were not the frontrunners expected to advance this far.
On his journey to Paris, top-ranked Sinner was riding a 29-match winning streak, seemingly destined for the title after narrowly missing out against Carlos Alcaraz last year.
Musetti, unfortunately, missed this year’s Roland Garros due to injury.
However, Cobolli, who is equal in age to Sinner and Musetti, has surrendered merely two sets over five matches.
Amid gusty winds on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Auger-Aliassime stumbled on an overhead during the very first point and seemed unsettled when loud music unexpectedly blared from the stadium speakers at a critical moment in the third set.
Despite this rocky start, the Canadian clinched the opening set, prompting Cobolli to step off the court momentarily to regain his focus.
“I went to the restroom to gather my thoughts and make some adjustments,” Cobolli shared. “I told myself to battle because I knew this was a golden opportunity, and I had to give it my all.”
Before committing fully to tennis, Cobolli dazzled as a talented soccer player within Roma’s youth setup. Earlier this week, he had an exclusive invite to join PSG players as they showcased the Champions League trophy on the tennis court.
No matter the outcome of his semifinal match, Cobolli is guaranteed to break into the top 10 of the rankings for the first time next week. He may even bring home a trophy of his own.
Cobolli expressed, “This is the best week of my life.”
