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One of the biggest wins of Flavio Cobolli’s career was also one of the most emotional days of his life.
The Italian tennis player defeated ATP No. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday in the semifinal of the BMW Open in Munich, the first top-5 win of his career. After shaking hands with the German, he began sobbing on the court.
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The reason for the tears was Cobolli had recently learned a 13-year-old friend at his club in Italy had died Friday.
The 23-year-old Cobolli dedicated the win to his friend, Mattia, on social media.
Cobolli, currently ranked No. 13 in the world in the ATP live rankings, had the clear service advantage in the match, notching seven aces to Zverev’s zero and winning six of the German’s nine second-serve points. He won 10 points in a row during one stretch, and reversed a record of two losses in their head-to-head matchup.
Cobolli can win the fourth ATP title of his career Sunday, but will need another top-10 win to get there. No. 6 Ben Shelton defeated Alex Molcan in the other semifinal and will be playing in the Munich final for the second straight year, having lost in 2025 to Zverev.
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