CINCINNATI/WASHINGTON, August 21, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Match by match this summer, Flavio Cobolli has shown his resilience on the tennis court. No matter whom he’s playing, the passionate Italian from Florence is out on the biggest courts in the biggest tournaments fighting for every point. And, if it takes ingesting some delicious M&M chocolate candies along the way to boost his energy levels, all the better.
Thursday afternoon at the Cincinnati Open, the World No. 10 and seventh-seeded Cobolli became the 11th different Italian man to reach an ATP Masters 1000 semifinal since the series began in 1990. It’s also his first semifinal since becoming a Roland-Garros finalist earlier this summer in Paris. His 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 18 seed Tommy Paul in one hour and 57 minutes on P & G Stadium Court marked his second Top-30 victory at the same hard-court event for the first time in his career.
Cobolli’s moment 💫@cobollifla | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/u7U6wh6nSL
— Cincinnati Open (@CincyTennis) August 20, 2026
A day earlier, the 24-year-old Cobolli kept Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar from advancing to his eighth quarterfinal in nine tournaments played since April while reaching his second ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal – and first on a hard court. Like his earlier wins against Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia and Alexander Blockx of Belgium, Cobolli has gone three sets in all of his Cincinnati triumphs at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. It’s something that afterward, during his on-court interview, Cobolli said was a good practice for the upcoming US Open starting a week from Sunday.
Meanwhile, Paul fought off match point, down 5-6, during an intense second-set tie-break and went on to pull out an exciting three-set victory over World No. 3 and top seed Alexander Zverev Wednesday afternoon, which advanced him to his first Cincinnati quarterfinal. Paul’s mastery of Zverev meant he had become the first American man to earn a Top-3 win in Cincinnati since John Isner defeated then-No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the 2013 quarterfinals. However, Paul was unable to capitalize on the momentum he gained from beating Zverev.
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This time, in a match between two of the fittest players on the ATP Tour, Paul jumped out to a set lead 6-2 and looked like he was poised to make quick work of his quarterfinal tussle. However, Cobolli rallied nicely in the second set and broke early for a 3-1 lead. He rode the break to a 6-3 set win to force a decider.
Later, at 3-all in the third set, Paul saved a break point by garnering a 25-shot back-and-forth chess-like rally to remain alive. He saved three additional break points during the 10-minute-plus seventh game before finally holding serve for a 4-3 lead after winning the 16-point marathon. Soon, though, Cobolli broke at the most opportune time to go ahead 5-4 and found himself serving for a berth in the semifinals.
In the end, it was Cobolli who finished stronger and gained a deserving win over Paul – his second one over the American No. 6 after beating him in Cincinnati two years ago. He put away his 31st victory of the season with a third-shot forehand winner – the last of his 21 winners.
Looking back, Cobolli hit 10 aces and won 69 percent (31 of 45) of his first-serve points. He converted two of eight break points and outpointed Paul 83-82.
New territory unlocked 🌟@cobollifla reaches the last four in Cincinnati! @CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/thUrLsf0uG
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 20, 2026
During his on-court interview with ATP Media, Cobolli was asked to explain the change in his play during the final two sets from the opening set, won by Paul. He replied: “Change is not easy. Every match is different; every set is different. I’m really proud of myself how I managed [everything].
“I’m proud about my game, my mentality and my team is always important to me all my life.”
Asked to describe why he asked for M&M candies at a critical juncture earlier during the quarterfinal, Cobolli smiled and answered: “I played a little bit tired, then I needed some energy – some sugar – and I love M&M candies. Chocolates with colors make me happy.”
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In Saturday’s semifinal round, Cobolli will face No. 21 seed Arthur Fils of France, who ended the surprising run of No. 50 Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina, 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and four minutes on P & G Stadium Court Thursday evening to reach his third ATP Masters 1000 semifinal this season following similar successes at Miami and Madrid. Earlier, Tirante defeated No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic in the second round and reached the quarterfinals with a victory over No. 14 seed Jakub Mensik.
With his win, Fils has become the sixth man born since 2000 to reach three-plus ATP Masters 1000 semifinals and the eighth Frenchman to reach Cincinnati semifinals in the Open Era. This season, he is 13-0 versus players ranked outside the Top 30 on hard courts and 10-0 in deciding sets. Fils won 83 percent (24 of 29) of his first-serve points, hit 14 winners, faced no break points on his serve and converted three of five break-point opportunities. He outpointed Tirante 59-36.
“Tonight was good, first time on the center court. It’s kind of a different energy, a different vibe,” Fils said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “You get that it’s a big stadium, a big crowd. I played my best tennis. I’m very happy with the outcome.”
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Rest assured, Cobolli will have some M&M candies at the ready for his semifinal match on Saturday. They helped get him across the finish line on Thursday – and just may be the right thing to come to his rescue, again.
Around the Cincinnati Open
With four Round of 16 men’s doubles matches on tap, the last of the quarterfinal pairings were decided on Thursday. However, there were plenty of surprises.
On a day after the No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany went out in singles, the No. 1-seeded doubles team of Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain were upset and eliminated, too. The reigning Wimbledon champions and three-time major titlists lost to Hugo Nys of Monaco and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France, 6-4, 6-4, in one hour and 20 minutes on P & G Stadium Court.
Coming in, Heliovaara and Patten had gone 42-8 and won five titles overall this season. However, on Thursday, Nys and Roger-Vasselin converted five of seven break-point opportunities and outpointed their opponents 60-47 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Also, No. 3 seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia, the 2024 Cincinnati champions, were upset by French duo Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti, who rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 victory in one hour and 17 minutes on Tony Trabert Stadium 3 after dropping just five points on their first serve.
Later, Rajeev Ram of the United States and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain, who won the 2022 Cincinnati title together and recently reunited after Salisbury took a sabbatical from the sport earlier this season, fell to alternates Constantin Franzen of Germany and Robin Haase of the Netherlands, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 10-4, in one hour and 33 minutes on the Grandstand Court.
Finally, No. 4 seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori of Italy advanced over Adam Pavlasek and Patrik Rikl of Czechia, 6-3, 6-4, in 66 minutes on Tony Trabert Stadium 3, outpointing their opponents 54-39.
Thursday’s Cincinnati Open results
Friday’s Cincinnati Open order of play
By the numbers
There have been seven American men’s semifinalists in the history of the Cincinnati Open. They include: Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, John Isner, Andre Agassi, Robby Ginepri, James Blake and Frances Tiafoe.
“Quotable …”
“I have been feeling great in the last few weeks. My team and I put in a lot of hard work. The mentality has been very important. Just getting a lot of confidence out here and really trusting my game when it matters.”
– No. 27 Brandon Nakashima of the United States, who defeated Nuno Borges of Portugal to advance to the quarterfinal round against Taylor Fritz of the United States.
