Driven To Tears, Cobolli Earns First Wimbledon Quarterfinal Berth

Flavio Cobolli
Flavio Cobolli (photo: Wimbledon video)

WIMBLEDON/WASHINGTON, July 7, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

In just his second Wimbledon Championships appearance and eighth Grand Slam overall, Italy’s Flavio Cobolli reached his first major quarterfinal. There’s better place for it to happen than at the All England Club – and in front of his father, Stephen, who also happens to be his coach, too. There were plenty of joyful tears in the Cobolli camp by the end of the fourth-round match.

On Monday afternoon, the 24th-ranked Cobolli became the eighth Italian player in tennis history to reach the men’s quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the 22nd Italian player to reach a men’s quarterfinal at a major. Cobolli defeated 83rd-ranked Marin Cilic of Croatia, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), in three hours and 25 minutes on No. 2 Court.

The 23-year-old Cobolli has worked with his father, a former ATP professional, since he was 17. However, it wasn’t until last year that the Florence native began making his mark on the ATP Tour, going from ranked outside the Top 100 at the start of 2024 to a career-high No. 30 in October. Now, Cobolli is a bonafide Top-25 star, known for his surprising drop shots and ability to serve and volley. He looks like a natural on grass – and he’s only dropped one set through his first four rounds.

“My dad was a good player but he stopped when he was young, so he had a slightly lower ranking than me,” Cobolli said in an interview with the ATP Tour website earlier this season. “He is an incredible coach now and we have a great relationship.”

This season, Cobolli won his first two tour-level titles, a 250-series at Bucharest and a 500-series Hamburg, both on clay. He is sitting at a career-high ranking, too.

In his fourth-round match against Cilic, Cobolli won 78 percent of his first-serve points and overcame 47 unforced errors by striking 45 winners – including 11 aces – and converted three of eight break points. He withstood 19 aces and 48 winners overall from the 36-year-old Croatian. Cobolli outpointed Cilic 152-141. He won the match with his reliable serve and effective return.

Credit to the resurgent Cilic, a Wimbledon finalist from eight years ago, who is back on the ATP Tour after suffering knee injuries in both 2023 and 2024. He’s won a couple of Challenger titles this season and still has the burning fire on the court and desire to do well.

Next, Cobolli will face No. 6 seed and seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round.

During his on-court interview, Cobolli acknowledged what a special moment it was for him to finally be a major quarterfinalist – especially at Wimbledon – for the first time. “Guys, I’m in the last eight! I always dreamed to be here, to play this tournament,” he said.

“You cannot imagine my emotion right now because I started to play tennis because of these kinds of matches, this kind of tournament.

“Now, I’m very proud of myself, proud of my team. I have all my family here, so it’s very special. My dad is crying right now, my brother, too. Also my great friend is here.

“This is a moment I cannot forget. I’m very happy and looking forward to the quarterfinal. I hope to play on a big court this time because I never played there. And now I think I deserve it! Now, for sure, it’s time to rest because this match was unbelievable. Marin is a legend of our sport. It was a pleasure to share the court with him. Now I’m a little bit tired and need to recover for the next round.”

Later, in his post-match news conference, Cobolli added: “Now, I’m really emotional because this is a day that I never forget, for sure. I played a really good match today. I’m very proud of myself, about my attitude on the court. I think I believe since the first point of the match to win today. I am really, really happy.”

Meanwhile, two of Cobolli’s Italian Davis Cup teammates, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 47 Lorenzo Sonego, were also in action on the second Monday of the British fortnight.

First, Sonego met No. 10 seed Ben Shelton of the United States for the fifth time – and third time in a major this year. This time, it was Shelton’s moment to shine. The American No. 2 rallied to beat Sonego, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 7-5, in three hours and five minutes on No. 1 Court. Shelton struck 47 winners – eight of them aces – and won 43 of 58 net exchanges with Sonego. He outpointed his opponent 129-115. Shelton has now defeated Sonego four times in five tries, including at this year’s Australian Open and Roland-Garros.

Then, the top-seeded Sinner faced No. 19 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria later Monday evening on Centre Court. For two sets, it looked liked the top-seeded Sinner was ripe for an upset. However, Dimitrov’s injury struggles, which have dogged him especially at majors, struck again.

Ahead, 6-3, 7-5, 2-2, Dimitrov was forced to retire after injuring his right pec. It came after two hours and eight minutes of play, in which Dimitrov dominated the match statistically. He had struck 36 winners – including 14 aces – and converted three of five break points. He was ahead of Sinner in total points 79-65.

With Sinner joining Cobolli in the last eight, it’s the second time in tennis history that multiple Italian players have reached the men’s singles quarterfinals at Wimbledon, after 2024, when Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti reached the quarterfinals at the All England Club.

Djokovic rallies over de Minaur, secures 16th Wimbledon quarterfinal berth

Like any player, Novak Djokovic likes winning matches in straight sets. However, after a slow start for the seven-time Wimbledon champion and 24-time major titlist, the No. 6 seed from Serbia rallied to defeat No. 11 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, in three hours and 19 minutes on Centre Court. It was his 101st career victory at Wimbledon.

The victory advanced Djokovic into his 16th career Wimbledon quarterfinal on Wednesday against No. 22 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy.

Last year, de Minaur was forced to withdraw ahead of his quarterfinal match against Djokovic due to a hip injury he sustained during his fourth-round win against Arthur Fils of France. This time, de Minaur had his chances but watched them slip away. After breaking Djokovic’s serve three times to easily win the opening set, he was stymied by Djokovic’s ability to play catch up. In the fourth set, the Serbian great rallied from down 1-4 to pull out his first grass-court win over de Minaur and fourth overall against the Aussie No. 1.

Djokovic’s strategy of moving de Minaur side to side while limiting his own mistakes paid off in the end. He finished with 44 winners – including six aces – and converted six of 13 break points. Although he was broken by de Minaur six times, he saved 13 other break-point chances. Djokovic outpointed de Minaur 126-116.

The 38-year-old Djokovic’s latest victory was his 101st career win at Wimbledon and his 25th triumph of the 2025 season. He’s the third man in the Open Era to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon aged 38 or older, joining Ken Rosewall (1974) and Roger Federer (2021). Now, he’s moved to within three victories of equaling Federer’s Wimbledon titles record.

“I am still trying to process the whole match and what happened on court,” Djokovic said during his on-court interview. “It wasn’t a great start for me, it was a great start for him. He broke my serve three times in the first set. Very windy, swirly conditions on the court. He was just managing better with the play from the back of the court.

“I didn’t have many solutions but I managed to reset myself. It was kind of a tough game to close out the second set. Perhaps that was a momentum shift where I just felt like ‘OK, I am back in the game’. It was a lot of cat-and-mouse play, a lot of slices and he is so good at it. He is one of the quickest players we have on the Tour and on grass where the ball bounces so low, it is extremely difficult to play someone like him if you are not feeling the ball really well. He exposes all your weaknesses and I was pleased to hang in tough in the right moments.”

Bencic, Andreeva reach first Wimbledon quarterfinal

In her ninth Wimbledon Championships dating back to her first one in 2014, No. 35 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland is finally through to the quarterfinals for the first time and it’s her first major quarterfinal since becoming a mother last year.

On Monday afternoon, the 28-year-old Bencic knocked off No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia, 7-6 (4), 6-4, in one hour and 57 minutes on No. 1 Court. It took six match points for the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist to secure the fourth-round victory. Bencic hit 24 winners and converted four of six break points. She outpointed Alexandrova 87-76 to move into the last eight.

Next, Bencic will play No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia, who is also through to her first Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance after easily defeating No. 10 seed Emma Navarro of the United States, 6-2, 6-3, in 75 minutes in her Centre Court debut. Andreeva, 18, becomes the youngest Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 17 years. She hit 17 winners and converted six of seven break-points chances. Andreeva outpointed Navarro 63-45.

• No. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia advanced with a 7-5, 7-5 win over No. 62 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain, in an hour and 43 minutes on No. 2 Court. She hit 23 winners, converted five of nine break points and outpointed her opponent 80-72.

Next, Samsonova will face No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland, who defeated No. 23 seed Clara Tauson of Denmark, 6-4, 6-1, in 65 minutes Monday evening on No. 1 Court. Swiatek hit 18 winners, converted five of nine break points and outpointed Tauson 51-32. The former World No. 1 is through to her second Wimbledon quarterfinal in the last three years.

Around the All England Club

Record eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer and his wife Mirka were front and center in the Royal Box at the All England Club’s Centre Court to watch Novak Djokovic‘s fourth-round clash against Alex de Minaur on Monday afternoon. Federer is a member for life of the All England Club.

Federer, 43, who made his 22nd and last professional appearance at Wimbledon in 2021, has been a visitor several times to the grass-court major since retiring from professional tennis. He accumulated a 105-15 win-loss record at Wimbledon, where he won five consecutive titles from 2003-2007. He lifted his final Wimbledon title trophy in 2017.

Monday’s Wimbledon results

Tuesday’s Wimbledon order of play

By the numbers

Jannik Sinner is through to his seventh consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal – something just eight men’s players in the Open Era have achieved.

“Quotable …”

“I feel like most of the time I come out playing very strong. Maybe, it’s having to work on my fitness more and being able to last that long in the matches. I think that’s just something we’ve been working on.

“To be fair, I haven’t really played a full calendar before this year, I think. I’m just getting used to playing week in, week out, having my body adjust to playing a lot of tennis.

“It’s the goal that I can sustain a very high level, especially against the top players. That’s something I’m striving towards.”

– No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova of the United States, during her post-match interview Sunday, after defeating No. 30 seed Linda Noskova of Czechia on Centre Court to advance to quarterfinal round.

 

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