In a blockbuster first-round battle at the Terra Wortmann Open on Tuesday afternoon, Flavio Cobolli saved one match point to beat Joao Fonseca 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-6(8) after two hours and 44 minutes.
An entraining third-set tiebreaker saw mini-breaks all over the place, with the two players taking turns inching ahead and falling behind. Cobolli, who fought off Fonseca’s chance at 5-6, had match points of his own at 7-6 and 8-7 before converting at 9-8.
Denis Shapovalov is next up for Cobolli after the Canadian advanced in similar fashion on Tuesday. Shapovalov outlasted Ugo Humbert in a final-set ‘breaker, prevailing 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) after two hours and 28 minutes.
French Open runner-up Jannik Sinner joined Cobolli and Shapovalov in round two by defeating Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 6-3.
“He is a great server and a great baseliner,” Sinner said of Hanfmann, “so breaking him is very difficult on this surface. I’m very happy how I handled the tough situations mentally. The first set could have gone into a tie-break and then anything can happen.
“I’m very happy about my performance. First matches are never easy on grass, and also second and third matches, so let’s see what’s coming in the next round. I think tomorrow I have the day off, which is good, because the body feels different on this surface. Let’s see how I’m going to react.”
Sinner will face Roland Garros quarterfinalist Alexander Bublik on Thursday.
nice one, Cobo
Yes, that’s mental toughness when you do that
Latin temperament at its best.