Flavio Cobolli beat sixth seed Andrey Rublev 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to reach the second round at the China Open in Beijing.
Cobolli earned his second win over a top 20 player on hard court in 2025. The Italian player rallied from a break down in both sets. He came back from 2-5 down in the first set and 0-2 down in the second set, but he won eight points more than Rublev.
Rublev went up an early break in the second game of the first set. Cobolli converted his fourth break point in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead. Rublev saved three break points in the 11th game. Cobolli earned two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-3.
Rublev earned an immediate break in the first game of the second set. Cobolli saved two break points in the third game before breaking back in the fourth game at deuce to draw level to 2-2. Rublev saved two break points in the sixth game. Cobolli fended off four break points in the seventh game before breaking in the next game. The Italian player sealed the second set 6-3 on his first match point.
“I am happy with the match against Rublev. I am making progress with my attitude on the court. It was not easy in these hot weather conditions. I am struggling to get over the jetlag”, said Cobolli.
Cobolli will face either Francisco Cerundolo or Learner Tien.
