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Flavio Cobolli recovered from a set down to beat Tommy Paul 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and reach the first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal of his career at the Cincinnati Open 2026. Arthur Fils ended Thiago Agustin Tirante’s remarkable run 6-3, 6-2 in 64 minutes. Their meeting guarantees a first-time Masters 1000 finalist in the bottom half of the draw.
Cincinnati, United States: The turning point involved chocolate.
Leading 5-2 in the second set and visibly flagging, Flavio Cobolli asked for a tub of M&M’s at the changeover. He levelled the match shortly afterwards and won it in three. “Chocolate with colours makes me happy in the match,” he said later, which is as good an explanation as any for the strangest recovery of the tournament.
The rest of it was less whimsical. Paul had raced through the opening set in 27 minutes, breaking twice, and Cobolli was winning fewer than half his first-serve points — 6 of 13 — while it happened.
The Numbers Turn Completely
What followed was a near-total statistical inversion. Cobolli’s first-serve points won climbed to 65 per cent in the second set. In the decider, he won all twelve points on which he landed a first serve.
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Even then it required nerve. He let four break points slip in the seventh game of the third set, broke at the next opportunity for 5-4, and served it out. It was his fourth three-set win of the week, and the second consecutive day he had come from a set behind — he had needed three to get past Rafael Jodar on Wednesday.
The seventh seed becomes the second Italian man to reach the Cincinnati final four, after Jannik Sinner. He also moves to 31-17 for the season and rises to a career-high ranking of No. 6.
For Paul it ends a run that had produced wins over Hubert Hurkacz, Adolfo Vallejo and, most significantly, Alexander Zverev — the top seed, saved match point and all.
Fils Ends the Dream Run in 64 Minutes
The night’s other quarterfinal offered no such drama. Thiago Agustin Tirante had beaten Novak Djokovic and Jakub Mensik on his way to the last eight, a run that had turned him into the story of the men’s draw. Arthur Fils dismantled it in a little over an hour.
The Frenchman won 6-3, 6-2 without facing a single break point, taking 78.7 per cent of his service points. It is his third ATP Masters 1000 semifinal of the year, making him the first Frenchman to reach three in a season since Guy Forget in 1991 — and it follows a fourth-round win over Alex de Minaur that was his tenth career victory over a top-10 opponent.
A Guaranteed First-Time Finalist
Cobolli and Fils have never contested a Masters 1000 final between them. One of them will on Sunday.
That is the shape of a tournament that has lost Novak Djokovic, Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur, and which now offers its bottom half to two players still looking for their breakthrough at this level.
The top half is settled on Friday. Taylor Fritz, the highest remaining seed at No. 6, faces fellow American Brandon Nakashima, while Lorenzo Musetti meets Frances Tiafoe — a rematch of sorts for Tiafoe, who reached the final here in 2024.
Results — Quarterfinals, Men’s Singles
[7] F. Cobolli d. [18] T. Paul 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
[21] A. Fils d. T. Tirante 6-3, 6-2
Still to play: [6] T. Fritz v [27] B. Nakashima · [10] L. Musetti v [17] F. Tiafoe
