United Cup: Italy’s Flavio Cobolli holds off determined Switzerland great Stan Wawrinka in three-set epic

Italian Flavio Cobolli has outlasted Stan Wawrinka in an incredible three-setter at RAC Arena as the Swiss great found himself involved in an instant classic for the second straight day. A day after beating French world No.29 Arthur Rinderknech, Wawrinka almost added the scalp of the world No.22 Cobolli, but ultimately the Italian won out 6-4 6-7 7-6 in two hours and 55 minutes. The last set alone took 71 minutes and the final tiebreak un-fittingly ended with a Wawrinka double fault as Cobolli kept the tie alive for his country after Belinda Bencic had toppled Jasmine Paolini in straight sets. Bencic then partnered with Jakub Paul to lead Switzerland to a 7-5 4-6 10-7 mixed doubles win over Italy’s Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori to become the first country to punch their ticket to Wednesday’s quarter-finals. But if this is a preview of the remainder of Wawrinka’s retirement tour, it will prove to be appointment viewing as the grizzled 40 year-old dazzled and grinded in equal measure against an opponent 17 years younger. Cobolli showed off the full range of his own shot-making in an impressive performance, but found the wall-like Wawrinka refused to yield and go quietly into the Perth night. Despite Wawrinka’s popularity, the crowd was not entirely on his side as a large contingent of Italians cheered on Davis Cup-winning hero Cobolli. The big-serving Italian broke Wawrinka to go 5-4 up in the first, but then became embroiled in bizarre scenes as a ball fell out of his pocket mid-rally, forcing him to watch the Swiss’ shot fly by. Despite some energetic gesticulating in a robust chat with umpire Julie Kjendlie, Cobolli was left frustrated when the point was not replayed, although he went on to close out the first set. The pair went blow-for-blow, game-for-game, serve-for-serve in the second and a third tiebreak of the tournament beckoned for Wawrinka; but the ex-world No.3 was not to be denied as he stayed steady while Cobolli stumbled. Once more, unto the breach for Wawrinka as another three-set marathon ensued with neither man willing to give an inch. The crowd were rowdy and the tension bellowed around the arena as the elder statesman continued to roll with the punches, not once looking flat. But every time it looked like Wawrinka might simply will himself to victory, the Italian conjured up a winner, including one stupendous sliced winner which his opponent could only applaud. Inevitably, yet another tiebreak proved a fitting way to decide the two competitors, and Cobolli did enough to tee up a pivotal mixed doubles clash. Earlier, Bencic continued her renaissance as she downed Paolini 6-4 6-3 and in her second full season since returning from maternity leave, the 28 year-old looks like proving her amazing comeback in 2025 was no fluke. In terms of current world rankings, Bencic’s clash with Paolini was the pick of all the singles matches in Perth as world No.11 took on No.8; the former was a Wimbledon semifinalist last year, the latter the runner-up at SW19 the year before. But it was Bencic who sent an ominous message to the rest of the top 10 with her impressive performance over the course of the match’s 112 minutes. She made just nine unforced errors in the second set to Paolini’s 15 and attacked the Italian’s serve when the opportunity arose. Locked at 4-4 in the first set, Bencic’s outstanding defence came to the fore as the Swiss star ended a fantastic 12-shot rally with a wonderful passing shot down the line to break Paolini, before comfortably serving out the first set. Another Bencic break early in the second set gave her the advantage and when the Italian served at 4-2 down, it felt like her last stand. After Paolini held her nerve amid two break point opportunities, seven deuces followed as a captive audience followed along, the two-time major runner-up eventually winning the game. But it only delayed the inevitable, two wide shots by Paolini a couple of games later handing Bencic match point and then the win.