Cobolli emerges victorious from a tough battle in his grass debut

Cobolli faced Fonseca in the first round of the Halle tournament. The two players had never met on the tour before.

The first set went in favor of the Brazilian, who was strong on serve with 83% of points won behind his first delivery and 5 aces, while also being more solid on return compared to his opponent. As a result, he managed to convert one of his five break points to take the opening set (7-5).

The battle between the two players didn’t stop there, as they fought fiercely until the tie-break. The Italian raised his level (16 winners, 4 aces) while capitalizing on a less effective Fonseca, both on serve and groundstrokes (21 unforced errors). The Brazilian also had a scare when he slipped at 4-3 in the tie-break, which Cobolli ultimately won 7-3.

However, the gap between the two didn’t widen in the third and final set, where spectators witnessed another nail-biting tie-break. In a thrilling finish, Cobolli saved a match point and clinched the intense duel 10-8, securing his first grass-court win of the season (5-7, 7-6, 7-6).

For a spot in the quarterfinals, he will face the winner of the match between Humbert and Shapovalov.