US Open: Cobolli retires, his friend Musetti in the 4th round for the first time
Lorenzo Musetti benefited from the abandonment of Flavio Cobolli (6-3, 6-2, 2-0) on Saturday
Lorenzo Musetti, 2025 | © Zuma / PsNewz
An in-form Lorenzo Musetti, the No. 10 seed, has advanced to the fourth round of the US Open after his opponent, No. 24 seed Flavio Cobolli, retired from their match on Saturday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
Musetti, ranked No. 10 in the world, was leading 6-3, 6-2, 2-0 when Cobolli, ranked No. 26, pulled out of the match. While the official reason for the retirement is unclear, Cobolli was seen gesturing to the upper part of his right arm to his friend and opponent. In the middle of the second set, Cobolli’s performance noticeably declined, and he also requested a medical timeout.
“I didn’t want to finish the match like that, Musetti said. Especially against Flavio. He’s probably my best friend on tour. We’ve known each other since age 9. Our families know each other pretty well. We spent many hours together on and off court throughout our career. First of all, a big round of applause to Flavio please. It’s a bittersweet end. But I’m happy to be in the 4th round for the first time.”
Musetti vs. Munar or Bergs
Musetti will next face the winner of the match between Spaniard Jaume Munar and Belgian Zizou Bergs. Since dropping the first set of his first-round match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4), Musetti has been playing some of his best tennis on the hard courts of New York. This was evident in his dominant win over David Goffin (6-4, 6-0, 6-2).
Flavio Cobolli may have been feeling the effects of a challenging tournament schedule. He had played two lengthy matches to reach the third round, defeating American Jenson Brooksby (5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (3)) and qualifier Francesco Passaro (7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3).
This match-up marked the third time in the Open Era where two Italian men have met in a Grand Slam at the third round or later, per ATP statisticians. The most recent examples were at the 2017 US Open, where Paolo Lorenzi defeated Thomas Fabbiano in the third round, and at the 2021 Roland-Garros, where Lorenzo Musetti defeated Marco Cecchinato, also in the third round.
New York (Grand Slam), other third-round results (USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, hard, USD 90.000.000, most recent results first):
- Alexander Bublik vs. Tommy Paul
- Alexander Zverev vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
- Daniel Altmaier vs. Alex De Minaur
- Kamil Majchrzak vs. Leandro Riedi
- Chak Lam Coleman Wong vs. Andrey Rublev
- Jannik Sinner vs. Denis Shapovalov
- Jaume Munar vs. Zizou Bergs
- Taylor Fritz (4) beat Jerome Kym (Q): 7-6 (3), 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4
- Tomas Machac (21) beat Ugo Blanchet (Q): 7-5, 6-3, 6-1
- Novak Djokovic (7) beat Cameron Norrie: 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-3
- Jan-Lennard Struff (Q) beat Frances Tiafoe (17): 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7)
- Adrian Mannarino beat Ben Shelton (6): 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 ret.
- Carlos Alcaraz (2) beat Luciano Darderi (32): 6-2, 6-4, 6-0
- Arthur Rinderknech beat Benjamin Bonzi: 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2
- Jiri Lehecka (20) beat Raphael Collignon: 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
