Flavio, weakened by pain, beaten by the Englishman in three sets: “I took lots of pills but it wasn’t enough.” Paolini beats Sasnovich and reaches the second round. Ball boy faints from the heat

Flavio Cobolli, ravaged by a stomach virus, is eliminated in three sets by British qualifier Arthur Fery 7-6 (1) 6-4 6-1 in two hours and 12 minutes, in his Australian Open debut. Fery is a good player and certainly a tough opponent in the first round, but well within the reach of the tournament’s 20th seed if in normal physical condition. Unfortunately, Flavio was not today, falling victim to a sudden bout of enteritis that knocked him off his feet. After Berrettini, Italy has lost another important player. Cobolli tried several times during the match to turn the game around, with Fery practically always ahead and the Roman chasing. The first set saw four breaks, with the Briton taking his opponent’s serve first and having the opportunity to serve for the set at 5-4, but Flavio broke to love and then saved another break point in the next game to force a tiebreak. Unfortunately, it was terrible and lost 1-0. In the second set, Fery broke the Roman’s serve at 2-1, who responded immediately in the next game, but at 5-4 and serving, Cobolli lost his serve again and with it the set. The match ended there, with the Briton racing to a 4-1 lead in the decisive set and Cobolli increasingly lacking the energy to react, eventually losing 6-1. “I’ve been feeling fine these past few days,” he said, exhausted after the match. “I woke up feeling fine this morning too. Then, as soon as I got on the court, I started having severe pain and intestinal problems. I took pills, lots of pills, but it wasn’t enough. I had lost a lot of fluids and my energy level was at an all-time low. Now I hope to have a decent flight home. Once I arrive in Monaco, I’ll take a couple of days to recover physically and mentally, and then I’ll think about America. I’ll play Dallas and Delray Beach.”

No problems, however, for the other Italian on the court, seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, who dominated Belarusian qualifier Sasnovich without any trouble, beating her 6-1, 6-2 in an hour and seven minutes. It was a one-sided match, with Jasmine immediately taking a deadly 5-0 lead for a clear 6-1 in the first set. It was almost the same story in the second set, with Paolini maintaining a pace that was simply too fast for her opponent, who saved three match points at 1-5 before finally succumbing to Jasmine for a 6-2 final score.

FORWARD ZVEREV—  The 2025 finalist, Alexander Zverev, world number three, also took to the court last night. The German, coming off a less than brilliant period, had a few too many problems to overcome to get the better of Canada’s Diallo, especially in the first set, which he lost in a tiebreak. Then Zverev managed to reset everything and won without any problems with a score of 6-7 (1) 6-1 6-4- 6-2. Of note was the fainting of a ball girl due to the heat during the women’s match between Sonmez and Alexandrova. Zeynep immediately approached to help her and accompanied her off the court.

Too bad, Venus!—  Venus Williams was really close to pulling off the upset of the day, and that’s not all. The 45-year-old former world number one gave 25-year-old Olga Danilovic, born in 2001, a run for her money. Danilovic is one of 112 players in the draw who wasn’t even born when Venus played her first WTA match. The Serbian won in three sets (6-7 (5) 6-3 6-4), but Williams was leading 4-0 in the third set before the daughter of the legendary Pedrag staged a furious comeback, winning six games in a row to take the match. It was truly moving to see Venus, who is certainly not a model of mobility on the court but is certainly a model of class: seeing how she moved her opponent from one side to the other in the first set, as in the good old days.

Leave a Reply