Cincinnati (AFP) – Arthur Fils charged into the men’s final of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters on Saturday as he dispatched Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-4 in a match delayed for 45 minutes by rain and lightning. In his first-ever Masters 1000 final, 22-year-old Fils will play the winner of the all-American semi-final clash between Brandon Nakashima and Frances Tiafoe.
Fils beat Cobolli — the Roland Garros finalist from Italy — for the third time in their career series to become the youngest French Masters finalist since a 20-year-old Richard Gasquet in Toronto two decades ago. The 68-minute match finished with perfect timing as rain began only minutes after the conclusion, briefly delaying the start of a women’s semi-final between holder Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula.
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Fils said the weather delay that had halted the start of his match as the players took to the court was difficult to deal with. “You come on court more nervous because it’s a semi-final. The rain arrives, you wait, and when you come back conditions are completely different,” he said. “It was tough but I’m happy with how I dealt with it.”
Cobolli struck first as he broke Fils for a 2-1 lead on double-faults, but immediately lost his own service game to love as the Frenchman levelled, 2-all. The Italian went down for a second time, with his opponent catching the corner to take a 5-3 lead and serve out the next game with a concluding winner after 25 minutes.
Fils broke to start the second set as his intensity increased, and he closed out the win with a stinging forehand winner to the corner past Cobolli. Fils finished with six aces. “I was very happy with the performance,” the winner said. “I started out slow but the momentum began to change from 4-3 in the first set when I won some tough rallies. The momentum started going my way and I felt much better on serve.”
© 2024 AFP
