Flavio Cobolli overcame nerves and a resilient Zachary Svajda to continue his best-ever run at the French Open on Monday.
The 10th seed dropped a set before sealing a 6-2, 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(5) win over the American, who is currently ranked 71 places lower than him at 85th in the world. Cobolli got off to a blistering start before getting sternly tested by Svajda. After losing the third set, he lost a 5-3 lead and failed to convert a first match point in the fourth. In the second tiebreaker, he ousted his opponent by returning a smash with a forehand shot.
“The only thing that I understood today is the match is never done and I almost s**t on my pants. Now I’m happy but I’m still nervous,” Cobolli said afterwards.
“I always say that this is my favourite Grand Slam and I love to play on clay and I love to play in France. The crowd was unbelievable and helped me a lot today to finish the match that was really important for the next round.”
Cobolli, who has dropped just one set in four matches played at Roland Garros, is through to the last eight of a major for the second time in his career after Wimbledon last year. The run has moved him to the verge of breaking into the world’s top 10. He is now 11th in the ATP PIF live rankings, just 290 points behind 10th-place Alexander Bublik.
The 24-year-old, who is coached by his father Stefano Cobolli, admits he felt extra pressure with the president of the Italian Tennis Federation among those watching him play. It is the first time he has reached the quarter-finals of three Tour-level events on clay in the same year. He also reached this stage in both Madrid and Rome. He has won 27 out of 37 matches played on the surface since the start of 2025.
“I want to say thanks to my team. I also think that someone s**t their pants,” he joked.
“Part of my team is from the (Italian tennis) federation, so I want to say thanks for giving me the opportunity to play my best tennis every week.
“There was also Filippo and the president watching me, so I was really nervous.”
Cobolli is the third-highest-ranked player left in the draw after Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Zverev. He will next play either Auger-Aliassime or Alejandro Tabilo.
