Tennis The nightmare of Chileans in 2024: who is Flavio Cobolli, Tabilo’s dangerous rival in the second round of Wimbledon

This Thursday, Alejandro Tabilo (19th ATP) will play in the round of 16 of the best 64 at Wimbledon for the second time in his career. It will be the perfect opportunity to achieve his best result in the third major of the calendar, thus extending a dream performance on grass in 2024 which had already allowed him to lift the title at the ATP 250 in Mallorca.

For all this he will have to face a player who has complicated the Chileans this season: Flavio Cobolli (48th). The Italian faced Nicolás Jarry at the Australian Open and the two best rackets of the country at the Masters 1000 in Madrid, always coming out the winner. For this reason and because of the dramatic nature of his comparisons, the figure of the European does not arouse great followers on this side of the world.

The first confrontation took place in the first round of the Australian Open. Nicolás Jarry emerged as the big favorite thanks to a 2023 in which he won two ATP titles since being seeded in Melbourne. Cobolli, for his part, was then ranked 100 in the world and had entered the main draw through qualifying.

With great dedication and celebrating every point played, the Italian managed to win the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6 and 7-5 in four hours of play. This match will be marked by the point that Jarry lost because a ball went out of his pocket after serving and the Chilean was leading 5-3 in the last set, but suffered two consecutive breaks.

Three months later, Cobolli faced a Chilean again. Now far from the oceanic cement, the clash took place in the Spanish brick dust. It was in the first round of the Masters 1000 in Madrid, where his rival was Alejandro Tabilo, who also suffered from the game of a tennis player who has reached his peak this season. Jano won the first set 7-5, but ended up losing the next two 6-4, leaving himself behind from the beginning.

So, in the second round, the Italian’s rival was Nicolas Jarry. A reunion that seemed to be the ideal opportunity for revenge, but which ended with the same outcome experienced in January in Australia. Cobolli won the first set 6-3, but the Chilean bounced back to come back to 6-3. Finally, the third set was also defined by 6-3, but in favor of the Italian.

A 3-0 record against Chilean players in 2024 that this Thursday Alejandro Tabilo will seek to reduce. Opportunity and favoritism are entirely on his side, since the title in Mallorca and the resounding victory against Daniel Evans put him in the spotlight. Cobolli also wants to show his achievements: he reached the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 in Eastbourne and beat Rinky Hijikata in the first round of Wimbledon.