Flavio Cobolli let slip a break lead in all three sets before beating French veteran Richard Gasquet 6-4 4-6 6-1 in 1 hour and 57 minutes at the Ion Tiriac Open in Bucharest.
Cobolli converted six of his thirteen break points.
Cobolli started his 2015 season with wins against Dominik Stricker and Ugo Humbert but had won just one ATP Challenger Tour match since then until his win against Gasquet.
Cobolli set up a quarter final match against world number 232 Filip Misolic, who upset Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
Cobolli went up a break in the second game of the first set. Gasquet broke back in the fifth game. Both players went on serve until the 10th game when Cobolli earned his second break to win the first set 6-4.
Cobolli went up a set and a break in the fourth game to open a 3-1 lead. Gasquet converted his third break-back point in the fifth game and held serve in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. The Frenchman earned his second break in the ninth game and served it out on his first set point.
Cobolli earned an early break in the second game in the second game to open up a 2-0 lead. Gasquet broke straight back in the third game for 1-2. Cobolli won won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to win the third set 6-1.
“I want to say thanks to the crowd, because I felt like I was at home. I heard so many Italians here, and maybe some Romanians too. It’s always a pleasure to play with an amazing player like Richard and I’m really happy to reach my first win of the calendar year, finally. When I play a tournament, my goal is to win the tournament, so I’m here to play my best game. I am focused to play match by match. I am happy now for the win, but I’m not happy because I want to win more”, said Cobolli.
Francisco Comesana beat fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 3-6 6-3.
