Fiavio Cobolli called for a handful of sweets on court to fuel his 2-6,6-3, 6-4 fightback win over Tommy Paul which put the Italian into the semi-finals on Thursday of the Cincinnati Masters.

The M&M candies brought to the court were just the trick for Cobolli, the Roland Garros finalist. The hack seemed to mimic the shot of espresso often taken on the player bench at key moments by Italian compatriot Luciano Darderi.

“A sweet with chocolate makes me happy,” Cobolli said. “I’ve tried it in doubles so why not singles.”

Cobolli eliminated one of four US players in the quarter-final field with his comeback victory. He overcame Paul after the American fought through five deuces and saved four break points late in the deciding set.

Paul came to the match having defeated top seed Alexander Zverev, saving a match point along the way.

“It was a difficult day,” Cobolli said. “I’m proud of my effort, my game and my mental strength. It is all good practice for the US Open.

“My shape is 100 percent. I may play gold tomorrow on a day off to relax but I will be ready to fight again.”

Main photo:- Flavio Cobolli celebrates – ATPTour.com

Alexander Zverev wanted a match point and lost a late lead as the top seed crashed out of the Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 to American Tommy Paul in the fourth round.

Roland Garros winner had a win in hand leading 6-5 in the second-set tiebreaker but was unable to convert.

He broke for a 4-2 lead in the third set only to lose serve twice more as the newly married Paul served into the quarter-finals to wrap up a contest interrupted for 90 minutes by rain and required two more short pauses to wipe down wet lines on the court.

“I’m not sure how I did it,” Paul said. “I put some returns in, he gave me some looks at second serves and he threw in a few doubles (faults). That always helps a ton.

“I went after the ball a bit more, I was having fun out there. I hope I can keep building on this and peak at the US Open.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/zverev-paul-cincinnati-2026-wednesday

Paul lines up against the man Zverev beat in the French Open final two months ago, Flavio Cobolli.

The Italian needed two and a half hours to see off keen Spanish teen Rafael Jodar 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3, marking third win for Cobolli in that series of three-setters.

Cobolli will play his second Masters quarter-final of 2026 after Madrid in the spring.

“At the end of the second set and start of the third I told myself to believe, try on every point,” Cobolli said. “I knew I had a chance.

“Rafa has had an unbelievable season but maybe he was a bit tired. At the end I deserved to win as I was fresher than him.  

“I pushed to my limit to get through. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m really strong.”

There was a surprise win for Thiago Tirante, who upset Novak Djokovic in the second round. The Argentine advanced over Jakub Mensik 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 into his first Masters quarter-final.

Australian Alex de Minaur was no match for Frenchman Arthur Fils, who cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the fifth seed.

Main photo:- Tommy Paul beating top seed Alexander Zverev in Cincy – by Cincinnati Open

Mirra Andreeva had to work harder than expected to overcome an Asian adversary, with the reigning Roland Garros champion defeating Indonesian Janice Tjen 6-1, 7-6 (5) on Tuesday at the Cincinnati Masters.

The fifth seed coached by former Wimbledon winner Conchita Martinez struggled to close out the victory which eventually took her into the fourth round. over her No. 37 opponent.

Tjen saved two match points before Andreeva shut down the effort to advance at the last major tune-up prior to the start of the US open on August 30.

“It was two completely different sets,” Andreeva said. “In the first I was in command and she had unforced errors here and there.

“But in the second after a couple of games I started getting nervous, she made fewer mistakes.

“It turned into a match of mentality and physicality. It was not easy — I had a lot of opportunities to close it out earlier, but even like this I’m super happy.”

Anreeva was joined in the round of 16 by 2023 Cincy champion Coco Gauff, who also had to work after a free ride in the first set.

The fourth seed got past US compatriot Ann Li 6-1, 7-6 (3). 

Gauff claimed the openet in half an hour but had to get through a tiebreak to finish the job on court with a third match point.

“She played better in the second set and I missed a couple of break opportunities,” Gauff said. “I tried to forget about those.

“It was hard to control the ball for both of us and it was my first time playing a day match on this center court so I had to adjust to that.”

Eighth seed Elina Svitolina was forced to withdraw before her match against Wang Xiyu with an ankle injury.

“Unfortunately I tried my best to recover but the injury I sustained in Toronto and also pushed by the second round match, I didn’t recover as I wish I could to get ready for my next round,” the Ukrainian said.