Flavio Cobolli made an incredible comeback at the US Open on Tuesday, overcoming a two-set deficit to defeat Francisco Comesana with scores of 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. This victory allowed him to advance to the second round in New York.
In the beginning, the Italian, who is seeded fifth, seemed to be in serious trouble as Comesana played aggressively, putting Cobolli under a lot of stress. However, Cobolli gradually turned things around by improving the depth of his shots, forcing Comesana to play defensively for longer periods. He took the third set and then leveled the match by winning the fourth set.
The final set was closely contested, but Cobolli kept his cool when it really mattered. After a grueling four-hour match, he celebrated his first victory in a Grand Slam after being down two sets.
Next, Cobolli will take on the winner of the first-round match between American qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy and Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate.
Fritz and Keys Keep American Hopes Alive
In a more straightforward match, Taylor Fritz, the ninth seed, won easily against fellow American teenager Darwin Blanch with scores of 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Fritz, who reached the finals of the US Open in 2024, dominated the match with his powerful serve and strong baseline play. He arrived at the tournament after winning in Washington and reaching the quarter-finals in Cincinnati, raising expectations for his performance.
Next up for Fritz is a match against the winner of the face-off between Italy’s Mattia Bellucci and Hungary’s Zsombor Piros.
Madison Keys also successfully avoided an early exit by defeating 19-year-old Russian player Alina Korneeva with scores of 7-5, 6-4. Keys, the 22nd seed, had to push through some early nerves, especially remembering her first-round exit last year at the same venue. However, she improved her first-serve percentage dramatically from 48% in the first set to nearly 70% in the second, which helped her take control of the match.
In the next round, Keys will face either Czech qualifier Lucie Havlickova or Hungary’s Anna Bondar.
