‘I want to enjoy every minute’

The young Italian Flavio Cobolli will make his dream come true at the Shanghai Masters, where he will face his idol Novak Djokovic in the third round. Flavio grew up watching Novak’s matches and highlights, which he still does before going to bed. World no.

30 wanted to beat Stan Wawrinka badly in the second round and arrange the clash against the most decorated player of all time, I was looking forward to it and planned to enjoy every minute of it. Cobolli has passed 70 rivals in the ATP Rankings since the start of the season, recording notable victories and reaching his first ATP final in Washington.

The Italian scored two wins at Masters 1000 events twice this year before progressing through the first round in Shanghai as a seed. Flavio and Stan produced a cracker in the second round, with the young gun beating the veteran 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 after two and a half hours.

He repeated what his father Stefano did against Wawrinka in 2003!

The Swiss became the third player with a Masters 1000 victory in Shanghai and was given the opportunity to move on and face his great friend Djokovic.

Flavio and Stan remained neck and neck in the first two sets before the youngster grabbed an early break in the decider after a huge error from chair umpire Carlos Bernardes. The Italian served well in the remaining matches, going over the top and hoping for more against the 24-time Major winner.

The veteran scored 17 aces and dominated with his first serve. Still, the youngster had the edge behind the second serve, saving all three break points and recording the one break early in the decider that made the difference.

The first shot was the dominating stroke, with two rivals blasting 95 service winners. Cobolli added 34 winners and 18 unforced errors to his tally, surpassing Wawrinka’s ratio of 33-33. Despite scoring fewer service winners, Flavio took more points in the shortest range up to four strokes and again created a gap in the more advanced exchanges.

Flavio Cobolli can’t wait to face his idol Novak Djokovic in Shanghai.

There were no chances for the returners in the first ten games of the match, and Cobolli survived deuces at 5–5 to introduce a tiebreak.

He led 4-1 and 6-4 before Wawrinka turned the tables, denying two set points and winning 8-6 for an early boost. The Italian avoided more deuces in games two and six of the second set, keeping his serve intact and creating three break points at 5-5.

Stan denied them and reached another tiebreak, getting two minibreaks and allowing his rival to force a decider. World No. 30 held firm after twos in games one and three, grabbing a break in between after a costly mistake by chair umpire Bernardes.

Flavio faced the ultimate challenge in the seventh game, fending off three break chances and moving over the top with the lead at love at 5-3. Novak Djokovic played his first match in Shanghai since 2019 against Alex Michelsen and won 7-6, 7-6 in an hour and 55 minutes.

The American fought well against the 24-time Major winner, opening a 4-1 lead in the opening set and erasing a 4-1 deficit in the second to remain neck and neck, missing two set points in the second tiebreak to to increase the lead. veteran by.

Djokovic produced more efficient numbers behind the first and second serves, losing serve twice and delivering two return games from seven chances. Two rivals had the same number of unreturned serves and Novak expectedly defeated his opponent from the baseline.

The Serbian fired 34 winners and 23 unforced errors, leaving the American at a 30-19 ratio. Michelsen gave it his all as he tried to score the best win of his career, putting in a valiant effort but suffering a narrow loss. Alex built a small lead in the shortest rallies, and Novak erased it in the mid-range and most advanced rallies.

The youngster saved two break points in the first game of the match and secured a break in the next, giving an early lead. Michelsen denied another break point in the fifth game to extend the lead to 4–1, before getting a break two games later.

They served well in the remaining matches and Djokovic claimed the tiebreak 7-3 after three minibreaks. Novak broke in the fourth game of the second set and missed a chance for a double break. Alex pulled the break back in the seventh game and they served well until the tiebreak.

The American saved two match points and earned two set points, allowing the Serbian to take the breaker 11-9 with late minibreaks and book a place in the third round. “Novak has been my idol since I started playing tennis.

I regularly watched videos of his matches and highlights, and I still do that before I go to bed. I want to get on the field and enjoy it as much as possible. I was motivated to beat Stan because I sincerely wanted to play Novak in the next round. It is an excellent opportunity for me and I want to enjoy every minute of it,” said Flavio Cobolli.