Tennis-Cobolli brings flair to Wimbledon as Italian surge gathers steam
LONDON (Reuters) -Flavio Cobolli marched into the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Monday, leading a dashing Italian advance by snuffing out the once-lethal Marin Cilic in a statement win that lit up a sunny but breezy Court Two.
Wielding his bright orange racket like a fluorescent sabre, the 23-year-old carved through the Croatian's defences to win 6-4 6-4 6-7(4) 7-6(3), lighting the way for compatriots Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego.
Both hope to follow him through later in the day and set a Wimbledon record of three Italian men into the last eight.
For Cilic, now 36 and a finalist here in 2017, it was a flat, sobering exit — a campaign that had briefly stirred echoes of past glories ending with a performance that just did not show verve or resolve.
Cobolli next will face either Australian Alex de Minaur or tennis titan Novak Djokovic but either way will surely fear nobody after such a confidence-boosting performance.
Compact and bristling with youthful energy, he owned the court during the first two sets, firing groundstrokes fizzing into Cilic's side throughout, while the big man — a former U.S. Open champion — took bigger strides, made bigger cuts at the ball and was repeatedly forced into bigger errors.
There was less fanfare out on Court Two than on the raucous night Cilic had turned back time to topple fourth seed Jack Draper. And this time the Croatian just failed to spark.
Not so Cobolli.
Buoyed by pockets of vocal Italian support, he quickly got into his groove before showing there is far more to his arsenal than rock-solid groundstrokes — unfurling a series of beautifully deft volleys and feathered drop shots that delighted an increasingly appreciative crowd.
A single break of serve in each of the first two sets put him firmly in the driving seat before Cilic delved deep into his well of wiles and somehow managed to steal the third set on a tiebreak.
Cilic broke again for 4-3 in the fourth set as Cobolli's frustration started to show and the Croat's shadow loomed ever larger, but 22nd seed Cobolli kept hammering away and broke back immediatelythanks to a backhand winner.
Reprieved, he went on to force a second tiebreak and this time made no mistake, clinching victory when Cilic fired an unforced error — his 64th of the match.
(Reporting by Ossian Shine; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
10 minutes ago
- The Star
Golf-Harrington gets British Open underway at Portrush
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (Reuters) -Padraig Harrington struck the first tee shot as the 153rd British Open started in cloudy conditions at Royal Portrush on Thursday. Ireland's Harrington, twice the Open champion, was playing with Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard and Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin. Defending champion Xander Schauffele goes out in the morning with American JJ Spaun, this year's U.S. Open champion, and Spaniard Jon Rahm. World number one Scottie Scheffler plays alongside his fellow American Collin Morikawa and Ireland's Shane Lowry, the 2019 winner at Portrush. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy starts his bid for a second Claret Jug in the afternoon in the company of England's Tommy Fleetwood and American Justin Thomas. (Reporting by Ed Osmond; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
The Star
10 minutes ago
- The Star
Rugby-Wales locked out of Lions as Curry named to start first test
FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - British & Irish Lions v Argentina - Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland - June 20, 2025 British & Irish Lions' Tom Curry in action REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo BRISBANE (Reuters) -Tom Curry was named at openside flanker in the British & Irish Lions team for the first test against Australia on Saturday, ensuring the tourists would field a test team without a Welshman for the first time since the late 19th century. Welsh hopes of a presence in the side had rested on poacher Jac Morgan but coach Andy Farrell preferred England's Curry in the starting side with Ben Earl and Ollie Chessum covering the loose forwards on the bench. Farrell has gone for a conventional number eight in Jack Conan at the back of the scrum with his Ireland teammate Tadhg Beirne completing the back row at blindside flanker. Scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park, fullback Hugo Keenan, winger James Lowe, lock Joe McCarthy, prop Tadhg Furlong and hooker Dan Sheehan complete an eight-strong Irish contingent in the starting side. There was no place for Ireland's Bundee Aki in the starting centre partnership, however, with Scotland's duo of Australian-born Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones lining up outside their test teammate Finn Russell at flyhalf. Captain Maro Itoje, right winger Tommy Freeman and prop Ellis Genge make up a four-strong English contingent with Curry but there was no place in the matchday 23 for Farrell's son Owen, who joined the tour as an injury replacement. "We are entering the business end of the tour and it is time to put in our best performance to date," Farrell said in a news release. "We know how motivated the Wallabies will be and we know they are a well organised and dangerous side. "It is a great occasion and a proud moment for Maro Itoje, who will captain the test side, but also for those players who get the opportunity to represent the group on Saturday night." Team: 15–Hugo Keenan, 14–Tommy Freeman, 13–Huw Jones, 12–Sione Tuipulotu, 11–James Lowe, 10–Finn Russell, 9–Jamison Gibson-Park, 8–Jack Conan, 7–Tom Curry, 6–Tadhg Beirne, 5–Joe McCarthy, 4–Maro Itoje (captain), 3–Tadhg Furlong, 2–Dan Sheehan, 1–Ellis Genge Replacements: 16–Ronan Kelleher, 17–Andrew Porter, 18–Will Stuart, 19–Ollie Chessum, 20–Ben Earl, 21–Alex Mitchell, 22–Marcus Smith, 23–Bundee Aki (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Freestyle skiing-Norway's Olympic medallist Gronvold dies at 49 after lightning strike
(Reuters) -Olympic ski cross bronze medallist Audun Gronvold has died at the age of 49 after being struck by lightning during a cabin trip, the Norwegian Ski Federation said on Wednesday. Gronvold was rushed to hospital and received treatment for his injuries but died late on Tuesday, it added. Born in Hamar, Gronvold won bronze medals in men's ski cross at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2005 World Ski Championships. He was a national team athlete in alpine skiing from the 1993-94 to the 2003-04 season. "Norwegian skiing has lost a remarkable figure who has meant so much to both the alpine and freestyle communities," federation president Tove Moe Dyrhaug said. "Audun had a great career in both alpine skiing and ski cross, before he became a national team coach in ski cross. The Norwegian Ski Association also remembers his efforts on the ski board. There will be a big void after Audun." (Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Goa; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
