Did Paolini defeat Cobolli at the United Cup?

Flavio Cobolli and Jasmine Paolini are on the same formidable team at the United Cup in Sydney. The singles stars have helped their country to a 1-0 record in Group D and could win their group with a victory against France on Tuesday.

It turns out that they have been battling not just their opponents at the mixed-teams event, but each other.

After Paolini won her match against Belinda Bencic on Sunday, reporter Andrea Petkovic, a former WTA star herself, asked the World No. 4 about a tie-break she had played against Cobolli.

“I won the tie-break against Flavio!” Paolini said, to the delight of the crowd, as Cobolli waved to the Ken Rosewall Arena fans to deny the claim. “But I saw him playing today and he was playing better today, so I think he was not motivated to play against me. That’s why, I don’t know, he was [making] too many mistakes.”

^{Photo: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour}
So who won the tie-break? Cobolli admitted defeat shortly thereafter.

“Yes, I lost, but,” he started, before Paolini cut to the chase.

“7/5. No, 7/4, or 7/5?” she asked.

“No, no, 5. 5, but only because for the confidence of today, you know,” Cobolli said, cracking a smile as his teammate laughed.

“He gave me confidence,” Paolini added.

Over the past year another Italian, Jannik Sinner, has been the talk of the tennis world as he rose to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, becoming the first player from his country to do so.

But Paolini enjoyed her own impressive rise and the 22-year-old Cobolli climbed to a career-high World No. 30. They are proving a formidable team, with other members of their group including Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori.

They have also had fun off the court, visiting Sydney Harbour and surfing at a facility near the venue at Sydney Olympic Park.

“I think I knew Flavio better from the last year in the United Cup, so before not so well,” Paolini said. “But no, I like how he's staying on court. He has a good energy, but he's also calm. He's moving so well. I really like to watch him playing, especially when I win the tie-breaks with him!”