Tennis News: Arthur Fils performed impressively against Flavio Cobolli in the semifinals of the 2026 Cincinnati Open, securing a place in the final of the first Masters 1000 tournament of his career.
The 22-year-old tennis player recovered brilliantly after losing serve in the third game to beat the Italian tennis player, Cobolli with 6-3, 6-4 while securing a ticket to the match for the Cincinnati Open title against one of the host players, namely Frances Tiafoe or Brandon Nakashima.
The semifinal match between the two players was delayed for around 45 minutes due to lightning and rain that fell during the initial warm-up on the P&G Stadium Court, but once the match resumed, the French tennis player only needed an additional 68 minutes to secure a relatively dominant victory.
“I am very happy with this performance,” said Fils. “At first I played a little slow. I felt a little nervous, but I think, from 4-3 in the first set — when I was winning those long rallies — the momentum started to be on my side and I felt a lot better. Especially on serve, because in the first few games my serve wasn’t good at all, but after that it was very good. So, I’m very happy with my performance.”
The 21st seed won 82 percent of the points from his first serve against the seventh seed, Cobolli, and managed to convert three of the four break point opportunities he created to record 3-0 in their head to head.
Thanks to this victory, the 22 year old tennis player became the second player born in 2004 or later to reach the final of the Masters 1000 tournament, following in the footsteps of Czech national Jakub Mensik at the Miami Open in the 2025 season.
“It’s not easy,” answered Fils when asked about the disruption caused by the rain. “I went out on the pitch — and it was a semi-final match, so of course there were some nerves — but then the rain came and I had to wait. Then, when I came back to play, the conditions were very different and the overall situation was quite difficult to deal with, but I was quite satisfied with the way I handled it.”
By going 31-10 so far in the 2026 season, the Fils have climbed 10 spots to No. 11 in the world in Cincinnati so far. While he can’t climb any higher — even if he wins the final — he’s well positioned to try to break into the top 10 for the first time at the US Open, he’s not competing in that Grand Slam in 2025, so there are no ranking points for him to defend.
Apart from defeat in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open, Cobolli will also record a new achievement, where he will climb four places to world number 6, the highest ranking in his career to date.
Article Tags: cincinnati open, arthur fils, flavio cobolli
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/tenis/arthur-fils-tembus-final-tournamen-masters-1000-pertama-di-cincinnati