From rivals to allies? Flavio Cobolli talks his link with Alexander Zverev after surprise victory

Photo by Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images

From rivals to allies? Flavio Cobolli talks his link with Alexander Zverev after surprise victory

Originally posted on HITC | By Cameron Greenlees | Last updated Apr 18, 2026 10:34 PM ET

Flavio Cobolli is through to his second final of the season after beating Alexander Zverev in the Munich Open semi-finals.

Fresh off his Mexican Open victory earlier this year, Cobolli took down the defending champion Zverev in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, extending his remarkable form in Munich.

The Italian hasn’t dropped a set all tournament and hasn’t even needed a tiebreaker to get through any of his matches so far.

This win over Zverev marks just the second top-10 victory of his career and his first against a player ranked inside the top five.

Currently ranked 16th in the world, Cobolli now sits just one win away from adding a fourth title to his tour-level tally.

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup

Flavio Cobolli speaks out after winning over Alexander Zverev in Munich

During his post-match interview, Cobolli spoke about the impact Zverev has had on his career, saying:

“[That was] one of my best matches ever. He (Zverev) is one of my biggest friends on tour. He’s very inspiring for me, and he’s a really good guy.

“His team has helped me a lot during the season. We have a good relationship also with everyone on his team.

“So it was also a little bit tough to play against him. I’m a little bit shy when I play with a big player. But today I think I played one of my best matches.

“I’m really happy about the performance, about how I managed the difficult periods during the match. Now I think I’m ready to fight again, and we’ll see how it happens tomorrow.”

Flavio Cobolli Matches Ben Shelton in Notable Record

That win also marked his fourth appearance in an ATP 500 final, adding to previous runs in Washington, Hamburg, and Acapulco.

Cobolli’s rise puts him level with Ben Shelton for fourth-most ATP 500 finals among players born after 2000, trailing only Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz.

If he wins the final in Munich, it will be Cobolli’s third clay-court title. Two of his three tour-level titles so far have already come on clay.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: