Flavio Cobolli defeated Zachary Svajda 6-2, 6-3, 6-7(3-7), 7-6(7-5) on June 1 at the French Open to reach the quarter-finals after a 3-hour 21-minute match [1, 2, 3, 4]. Cobolli, seeded 10th and ranked either world No. 10 or No. 14, reached his second Grand Slam quarter-final following last year’s run at Wimbledon [1, 2, 3, 4].
Cobolli was the only player remaining in the Paris draw to have not dropped a set until facing Svajda in the fourth round [1, 3]. He controlled the first two sets, securing early breaks to win them in a combined 1 hour 25 minutes. However, Svajda, ranked No. 85 and playing his French Open main draw debut, fought back to take the third set in a tiebreak 7-6(7-3). Svajda had limited wins on clay this season but showed resilience in the match [1, 2, 3, 4].
In the final set, Cobolli took a 4-0 and then 5-1 lead but could not close quickly, wasting one match point before finally clinching the set in a tight tiebreak. Cobolli described himself as nervous during the match, saying, "The match is never done and today I almost shit in my pants. I’m happy but I’m still nervous" [1, 2, 3, 4].
Cobolli, aged 24, will face either fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or unseeded Alejandro Tabilo in the quarter-finals [1, 2, 3, 4]. Zachary Svajda is 23 years old. The contrasting experience and rankings added drama to their encounter, with Cobolli’s previous success at Wimbledon underscoring his rising status in men’s tennis [1, 2, 3, 4].
