Flavio Cobolli made a profitable begin on debut on the Subsequent Gen ATP Finals offered by NEOM on Tuesday, when he overcame 2022 semi-finalist Dominic Stricker 4-2, 3-4(7), 4-1, 4-2.
Stricker is the one participant at this yr’s occasion to have competed on the modern match earlier than, however Cobolli was not fazed by the Swiss’ prior expertise. The Italian made a quick begin as he adjusted to the no warm-up rule, whereas he gained nearly all of the No-Advert factors to take management.
Together with his one-hour, 39-minute win, Cobolli improved to 1-0 in Inexperienced Group play. Arthur Fils additionally earned victory on Day 1 of the primary ATP Tour sanctioned occasion in Saudi Arabia, defeating Luca Nardi.
“I warmed up for lots of time in the present day, so I used to be actually scorching on the courtroom,” Cobolli advised ATPTour.com. “I began the match rather well. The courts are so quick, however I used to be quicker [than Stricker]. I performed a extremely good match and I’m actually comfortable.”
First Fuelled By Fabio, Cobolli Now Fashions His Personal Italian Fashion
Cobolli, who struck 25 winners in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head assembly towards Stricker, has loved a powerful yr, profitable an ATP Challenger Tour title in Lisbon. He additionally cracked the High 100 within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the primary time in October.
“I believe the match didn’t really feel faster, however with these new guidelines, something can occur,” Cobolli added. “This was the primary match, so let’s see the way it goes tomorrow.”
Stricker competed on the modern occasion earlier than, taking part in beneath the first-to-four video games, best-of-five-set format. The 21-year-old has additionally earned robust outcomes on indoor laborious this yr, advancing to the quarter-finals on the ATP 500 in Basel, the place he earned a High 10 win towards Casper Ruud.
He was unable to take care of Cobolli’s depth and tempo on Tuesday, although, falling to defeat within the round-robin stage on the 21-and-under occasion for the primary time.
