PARIS, June 1 – Italian tennis player Flavio Cobolli, seeded tenth, secured his place in the French Open quarterfinals Monday after defeating American competitor Zachary Svajda in a four-set match with scores of 6-2, 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(5).
The 24-year-old from Italy reached his second Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance, following his previous advancement to the final eight at last year’s Wimbledon tournament. Prior to this match, Cobolli had maintained a perfect record without losing a single set throughout the tournament’s early rounds.
Drawing on his superior clay court experience compared to his 85th-ranked opponent, Cobolli established early dominance by securing an initial break of serve and maintaining control throughout the opening set before claiming it with a second break.
Svajda, participating in his first French Open main draw, entered the tournament having secured just one clay court victory this season. The American player’s inexperience on the surface became apparent as he struggled with his second serve while Cobolli demonstrated superior court movement.
The 23-year-old American adjusted his strategy in the third set, adopting a more aggressive approach and frequently advancing to the net. While unable to break Cobolli’s serve, Svajda managed to capture the tiebreak and reduce the Italian’s advantage.
Cobolli appeared to have secured victory after breaking serve twice to establish a commanding 4-0 lead in the fourth set. However, Svajda mounted a comeback with powerful forehand winners, forcing a decisive tiebreak after the Italian failed to convert a match point while leading 5-4.
The world number 14 ultimately prevailed in the final tiebreak and will advance to face either fourth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime or Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the next round.
