Sonego overcomes fourth seed Cobolli, #NextGenATP Blockx advances in Metz
Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego eliminated countryman and friend Flavio Cobolli on Tuesday at the Moselle Open to reach his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the year.
In the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, Sonego found the crucial break in the 11th game of the third set, earning a hard-fought 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory in Metz.
Fourth seed Cobolli has earned 31 wins in a productive 2025, lifting trophies in Bucharest and Hamburg. A final run in Metz would have resulted in the 23-year-old ending the season inside the Top 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings but that milestone will have to wait for future years following his early exit at the ATP 250.
Sonego has fond memories in Metz, having clinched the crown in 2022. The 30-year-old will next meet Hugo Gaston or Daniel Altmaier in the last eight following just his second Top 30 win of the season.
Fresh off a title run at an ATP Challenger Tour event, #NextGenATP star Alexander Blockx earned his second tour-level win of the season in Metz, where he overcame Italian qualifier Francesco Passaro 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.
The 20-year-old Belgian is fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and set to compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF next month. In an impressive serving display against Passaro, Blockx fired 16 aces and saved eight of the nine break points he faced. He is up two spots to No. 100 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will next play Frenchman Clement Tabur.
Australian Aleksandar Vukic saved two match points en route to defeating Corentin Moutet 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(8). Vukic now leads the eighth-seeded Frenchman 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and will face Matteo Berrettini in the second round.
Kyrian Jacquet and Daniel Altmaier also advanced at the ATP 250. French lucky loser Jacquet beat Luca Van Assche 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Altmaier eliminated Shanghai finalist Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-4.
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