Frances Tiafoe and Flavio Cobolli Surge into Acapulco Semi-Finals

The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC witnessed thrilling performances on Thursday as both Flavio Cobolli and Frances Tiafoe secured their spots in the semi-finals. Cobolli continued his impressive run, while Tiafoe reached this stage in Acapulco for the first time in eight attempts.

Cobolli’s Resilience Shines

Flavio Cobolli, currently ranked No. 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings, battled past China’s Wu Yibing 7-6(4), 6-1. The Italian showcased remarkable resilience, winning 83% of his first serve points (30/36) despite a first serve percentage of just 49%, as per Infosys ATP Stats. Cobolli impressively saved all eight break points he faced, six of which came in a challenging second set. He ultimately closed out the match after one hour and 35 minutes.

“I think when you don’t play like you want, but you still stay positive in your mindset — I think it’s [great] for me because it’s never happened in the past. So now it’s a little bit better, I’m very proud,” Cobolli shared after the match. “I really appreciate my attitude on the court because it’s not easy to play against [Wu] and I think he deserved to win the first set. I put a lot of energy in my game and I think I played a really good second set.”

Cobolli, a past champion at ATP 250 Bucharest and ATP 500 Hamburg, will now face Miomir Kecmanovic, who upset top seed Alexander Zverev the previous day and then defeated Terence Atmane 6-3, 6-3.

Tiafoe Reaches First Acapulco Semi-Final

In a significant milestone, Frances Tiafoe advanced to his first Acapulco semi-final after defeating Italian Mattia Bellucci 6-3, 6-4. The eighth-seeded American faced a momentary setback, missing a routine forehand at 5-3 in the second set, but quickly recovered to break back and secure the victory on his third match point.

Tiafoe, aiming for his fourth tour-level crown and his first above ATP 250 level, will next battle countryman Brandon Nakashima, who overcame sixth seed Valentin Vacherot 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. This promises to be an exciting all-American showdown in the semi-finals.

Stay tuned for further updates from the Abierto Mexicano Telcel as Cobolli and Tiafoe continue their quest for the title!

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