Roland Garros 2026 Men’s Day 7

Flavio Cobolli carried the weight for Italy as he advanced past Michael Chang-coached Learner Tien 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday to reach the business end of the French Open..

With the exit in the second round of an ailing Jannik Sinner, Cobolli picked up the slack for Italy with his victory in one and three-quarter hours.

Last weekend’s Geneva champion Tien had been on a six-match win streak before running into the 14th seed.

Cobolli reached his second career Grand Slam second week after hitting the Wimbledon quarter-finals last summer.

“I think I played well also because maybe my opponent was a little bit tired from  the last match. Maybe that helped to reach the fourth round,” he said.

“I’m really happy about the performance, of course. It’s my first win on the center court on the Grand Slam, so it means a lot, for sure.

“Now it’s time to recover a little bit; I’m already thinking about the next match, which is really important for me.”

Cobolli will bid for the quarter-finals when he faces Zachary Svajda, who beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 on his late father’s birthday.. 

“It feels amazing. I’m sure it’s going to kick in tonight,” the amazed winner said.

“It was an incredible atmosphere there, and I played really
well.”

The Californian said that the shock ouster of Sinner this week gave him some inspiration.

“When I saw Sinner was out, I tried to stay present and stay positive and just take it day by day, match by match. 

“I knew the draw was open, but I just tried to keep doing my routines, keep doing what I’ve been doing, and just see what happens.”

He added that going through a five-setter took all of his energy.

“It was nice getting the first two sets, and then I got a little bit tired. My legs started cramping a little bit. 

“I didn’t want to show it too much, so I just tried to shorten the points

“When I lost the third and fourth, I told myself, just keep trusting, keep believing, and you never know what could happen.

“There was great atmosphere out there. The crowd really helped me. Thankfully it went my way.”

Matteo Berrettini put a second Italian into the last 16, taking five and a quarter hours to overcome Francisco Comesano 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (13).

The dream run of French teenager Moise Kouame was ended by Alejandro Tabilo who carved out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (9)comeback in more than three and a half hours..