2026 French Open

LIVE: Cobolli Fights Back Against Auger-Aliassime

Fabio Cobolli(Bild: AFP/THOMAS SAMSON)

An Italian will compete for the men’s singles title in the French Open final in Paris on Sunday! No. 10 seed Flavio Cobolli reached his first Grand Slam semifinal on Wednesday with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 against fourth-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal—as did his unseeded compatriot Matteo Arnaldi.

Arnaldi faced Matteo Berrettini, another Italian. He got off to a rough start, but after falling behind 0-3, the 25-year-old increasingly took control of the match—the decisive break secured the set. Shortly after the start of the second set, Berrettini suffered an injury; after the “medical timeout,” it became increasingly clear that he would have to retire. With the score at 7-5, 5-2 in Arnaldi’s favor, it was over. “I feel very sorry for him,” the winner said to Berrettini. “Now the grass-court season is coming up. I hope he recovers soon.”

Arnaldi moves into the Top 35, Cobolli into the Top Ten
Arnaldihasnowmoved intothe Top 35 in the world rankings; he had traveled to Paris as the No. 104 seed. “When you think about where I was a month ago. I was ranked 150th in the world and then won a Challenger in Cagliari. From there, I started feeling better and trained well.” "The French Open suits him well, though; two years ago, he made it to the round of 16." His head-to-head record against Cobolli on the ATP Tour stands at 1-1; last year in the second round in Paris, Cobolli won the match in four sets.

The 24-year-old had fought back from a 1-3 deficit in the second set against Auger-Aliassime and also won the third match against the favored Canadian (25). “After the first set, I went to the bathroom to think about what I could change,” Cobolli said. “I told myself I had to fight, because this was the chance of a lifetime.”

“The best week of my life”
Cobolli will break into the top ten of the world rankings, which is another reason why it’s “the best week of my life.” That’s also because he managed to get a photo of himself with the Champions League trophy won by PSG. “But there’s still something missing, so I have to keep fighting.”

The Italians’ winning streak is all the more remarkable given that the original title favorite and world No. 1, Jannik Sinner, was eliminated in the second round. Additionally, 11th-ranked Lorenzo Musetti had to withdraw from the major due to injury.

Behrmann in Junior Quarterfinals
Meanwhile, in the junior competition, 18-year-old ÖTV player Thilo Behrmann has advanced to the quarterfinals. The Bavaria native defeated France’s Mathys Domenc 6-0, 7-6(2) and will now face the No. 1 seed, Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil.