Cobolli denies Wawrinka fightback, sends Italy to United Cup decider vs. Switzerland
Flavio Cobolli again embraced the responsibility of the moment on Sunday at the United Cup in Perth, where he sent Italy to a deciding mixed-doubles rubber against Switzerland.
The 23-year-old, who helped steer Italy to its third consecutive Davis Cup title in November, produced a gutsy finish to withstand spirited 40-year-old Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-6(4) after two hours, 50 minutes and level the tie at 1-1.
Belinda Bencic had earlier scored a statement straight-sets win over Jasmine Paolini to give Switzerland the lead before Cobolli fought back. The Swiss could still, however, finish top of Group C on Sunday and qualify for the quarter-finals if they win the tie, which will now be settled in mixed doubles.
Wawrinka, contesting his final season on Tour, pulled off a dramatic third-set tie-break win over Arthur Rinderknech on Saturday. The three-time major champion remained competitive throughout much of the match against Cobolli, but was unable to generate a break point as the Italian maintained his composure.
Wawrinka and Cobolli treated the RAC Arena crowd to a captivating duel deep into the deciding set, highlighted by a moment of magic from Cobolli, who steadied himself under pressure and fired a stunning forehand winner on the run to claim a mini-break in a tense final-set tie-break en route to improving to 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
[NO 1 CLUB]Earlier, Bencic put Switzerland in prime position to secure their spot in the United Cup quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over World No. 3 Paolini to take a 1-0 lead in the tie.
“I’m really happy with today’s match,” Bencic said on-court after the one hour and 53 minute match. “I lost to her really close at the end of last season. I really had to organize my mind that ‘now it’s my time, I can do it.’ I thought it was a bit mental today.”
Bencic is now 2-0 in singles, following her 6-2, 6-4 win over Leolia Jeanjean Saturday. Paolini will face Jeanjean in Italy’s next tie against France.
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