The Italian Flavio Cobolli, 14th player in the world, qualified for the semi-finals of Roland-Garros by eliminating the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (6th) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday. The 24-year-old Florentin will discover the last four of a Grand Slam against a compatriot, it remains to be seen whether it will be Matteo Berrettini (105th) or Matteo Arnaldi (104th), who face each other on Wednesday evening at the Central.
With this victory, this year’s finalist of the ATP 500 tournament in Munich on clay, is guaranteed to rise to 10th place in the next ATP ranking published on Monday. Auger-Aliassime was the strongest in the first set, taking advantage of the numerous errors from Cobolli who conceded his second set since the start of the Parisian Grand Slam.
While leading 3-1 in the second, the Montreal native suffered a drop in performance which the Italian took advantage of to get back to a set everywhere by regaining rigor on the forehand.
The Canadian failed to convert seven break points in the third set while Cobolli only needed one opportunity to take control of the match, concluding the set with a serve-volley sequence.
In line with the two previous sets, the AS Roma supporter continued to press when Auger-Aliassime was too imprecise, like this big backhand mistake which gave Cobolli the break. Realistically, he maintained his lead to qualify for the semi-finals on his serve.
