ItalianFlavio Cobolliplayed one of the best matches of his life and defeated world no.3Alexander Zverevin straight sets, 6-3, 6-3 in the ATP Munich semifinal. This was no ordinary game for Cobolli. He was facing the defending champion, a maiden final berth in Munich was in sight, and he was going through a massive emotional breakdown. Hours before the semifinal against Zverev, Cobolli was dealt a massive blow: the tragic news of the death of his companion at the Parioli club in Rome, a thirteen-year-old, Mattia, who died on Thursday after falling from his home window.

Cobolli was heartbroken, but he was determined to do well, and the fire motivated him to decimate Zverev, who was a massive favourite heading into the contest. But Cobolli outplayed him, smashing 32 winners and losing just eight points on serve. After arguably the biggest win of his career, Cobolli couldn't control his emotions and broke down in tears.

"He left us too soon, this victory is for him," Cobolli murmured softly. He later posted on Instagram: "A special win today. Not just for tennis, but for something bigger. Thinking of Mattia, a young boy from my club in Parioli."

He had strong words to say about Mattia's father. “Paolo, I’ve known you for so long... you are a fantastic dad, and you will be forever. We will always be here for you; count on us and be strong for him too, as from now on he will be protecting you from above, and will watch over all of us a little ❤️ We love you. Flavio."

After his win over Zverev, Cobolli said he played one of his best matches against one of his best friends on the tour. "It was one of my best matches ever, against one of my best friends on Tour. He's a really good guy, and we have a great relationship with everyone on his team, so it was a little bit tough to play against him.

“Flavio [Cobolli] is playing great tennis as you saw in the match earlier today against Sascha [Zverev],” said Shelton at post match conference.

“The best I’ve seen him play. I’m really looking forward to that match. We’ve played a lot of times, a lot of tight matches," he added.

Faham Uddin is a seasoned sports journalist currently working as a Special Correspondent on the sports desk. With over eight years of diverse experien...View More

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