New York, Sept 2:
Fifth seed Flavio Cobolli produced a stirring comeback at the US Open, overcoming Francisco Comesana in a five-set thriller to reach the second round in New York on Tuesday.
The Italian recovered from losing the opening two sets to defeat the Argentine 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in a gruelling contest that lasted four hours and 12 minutes. It was Cobolli’s first career victory after falling two sets behind in a Grand Slam match.
Cobolli looked out of sorts during the opening stages, struggling with errors as Comesana took control and moved within a set of a major upset. The Italian, however, gradually found his rhythm and began applying greater pressure from the baseline.
His groundstrokes became deeper and more consistent as the match progressed, allowing him to take control of the rallies. Cobolli levelled the contest by winning the third and fourth sets before the deciding set turned into another tense battle.
With the score level at 4-4 in the fifth, Cobolli produced the decisive breakthrough to move ahead 5-4. He then survived two break points in the final game before closing out the match with aggressive shot-making.
The victory continues a strong season for the 25-year-old Italian, who reached his maiden Grand Slam final at the French Open and also made the Wimbledon quarter-finals. He arrived at Flushing Meadows after reaching the semi-finals in Cincinnati.
Cobolli’s comeback was also notable because he had been involved in another demanding five-set battle at last year’s US Open, winning his opening two matches before retiring in the third round.
Meanwhile, American hopes remained alive as Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys advanced with straight-set victories. Fritz defeated compatriot Darwin Blanch, while Keys progressed past Alina Korneeva.
Cobolli’s victory also ensured that he avoided joining several seeded players who suffered early exits at this year’s tournament, setting up another challenge in the second round.These are structured as two independent newspaper reports, with separate headlines and leads.