Adrian Mannarino, 38 and ranked 83rd, beat world No. 7 Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in two hours and 27 minutes in the second round of the Shanghai Masters on Friday. Cobolli, the sixth seed, made 42 unforced errors in his second straight tournament-opening defeat.
Shanghai, China: The first set belonged to the Frenchman, the second to the seed, and the third to whoever blinked last. At 38, Mannarino did not. He walked on as the 83rd-ranked player against the world No. 7 and walked off as the only one of the two still in the tournament.
A first set that went one way
Mannarino won the opening set 6-1, even after facing an early break point. Cobolli answered in the second. He broke early, was broken straight back, and then broke again to level the match at a set apiece.
Level at 3-3, then three games to Mannarino
The deciding set was tight. Both men had chances, and Cobolli drew level at 3-3 with an ace. Mannarino then won the last three games. Serving for the match, he saved two break points and closed it on his second match point. Cobolli failed to convert many of his break chances and finished with 10 aces, 30 winners and 42 unforced errors.
Cobolli’s rough patch continues
For Cobolli, this is a second defeat in a row at the first hurdle. He lost his opening match in Beijing last week. The Italian sits fifth in the Race to Turin, and with the players around him still alive in Shanghai he is likely to slip down that list. It is a sharp contrast to August, when he reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Cincinnati and climbed to a career-high ranking of No. 6.
A veteran’s week gathers pace
Mannarino had already beaten Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round, a match that ended when the Georgian retired at 2-2 in the second set. The win over Cobolli was reportedly his 12th career victory over a top-10 opponent. It takes him into the third round, where he will face the winner of the match between Karen Khachanov and Arthur Fery.
It was a day of early exits for higher-ranked players in Shanghai. Andrey Rublev also went out in the second round, beaten by qualifier Rei Sakamoto.
Result: Adrian Mannarino (France) beat Flavio Cobolli (Italy, 6) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in 2h 27m
Event: Rolex Shanghai Masters (ATP Masters 1000), second round
Next: Mannarino v Karen Khachanov or Arthur Fery, third round
