After a tournament of upsets, crash-outs and rank outsiders storming into the mainstream, the men’s and women’s French Open finals have ended up looking remarkably familiar. Three of the four finalists were seeds, with an Italian man and Polish woman both in the line-up. That they weren’t the expected pairing was testament to the upside-down quality of this Roland-Garros – and the determination of both characters.
Poland’s Maja Chwalinska had previously shown promise on clay but was always a highly unlikely finalist, rising from world No 114 to just outside the top 20 and coming through three qualifying matches to even make the main draw.
Meanwhile the men’s final will not feature Jannik Sinner, nor the absent Lorenzo Musetti, but another promising young Italian seizing the opportunity of the draw suddenly collapsing around him. 10th seed Flavio Cobolli is now into his first major final and while his story may not rival Chwalinska’s for its Cinderella quality, it writes another page in one of the most remarkable success stories this decade: the seemingly endless rise of Italian tennis.
Three Italians made the quarter-finals and Cobolli then guaranteed an Italian finalist, while Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani have already secured one ******* le this week, in mixed doubles. There are six Italians in the top 100 and two more hovering just outside: quarter-finalist Matteo Berrettini, whose tournament was crippled once more by injury, and semi-finalist Matteo Arnaldi, whose big moment was spoiled by viral illness.
So it is 24-year-old Cobolli who is the last man standing. In many ways the clear foil to the level-headed, introspective Sinner, Cobolli is charismatic on and off the court, his game full of style and flair, and he has for some time been a natural understudy to his compatriot.
Poland’s Maja Chwalinska had previously shown promise on clay but was always a highly unlikely finalist, rising from world No 114 to just outside the top 20 and coming through three qualifying matches to even make the main draw.
Meanwhile the men’s final will not feature Jannik Sinner, nor the absent Lorenzo Musetti, but another promising young Italian seizing the opportunity of the draw suddenly collapsing around him. 10th seed Flavio Cobolli is now into his first major final and while his story may not rival Chwalinska’s for its Cinderella quality, it writes another page in one of the most remarkable success stories this decade: the seemingly endless rise of Italian tennis.
Three Italians made the quarter-finals and Cobolli then guaranteed an Italian finalist, while Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani have already secured one ******* le this week, in mixed doubles. There are six Italians in the top 100 and two more hovering just outside: quarter-finalist Matteo Berrettini, whose tournament was crippled once more by injury, and semi-finalist Matteo Arnaldi, whose big moment was spoiled by viral illness.
So it is 24-year-old Cobolli who is the last man standing. In many ways the clear foil to the level-headed, introspective Sinner, Cobolli is charismatic on and off the court, his game full of style and flair, and he has for some time been a natural understudy to his compatriot.
4 months ago
