After one of his biggest career wins, a victory over Zachary Svajda that took him to his first Roland Garros quarter-final on Monday, Flavio Cobolli faced a simple question. The Italian had led 5-1 in the fourth set before nearly losing. He held on in a tense tie-break and summed it up briefly: he had nearly panicked. Many men at this French Open have faced similar pressure. Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time champion, is absent with a wrist injury. The early exits of top seed Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic mean a first-time major winner will be crowned. The tension is clear, especially in the top half of the draw. Matteo Berrettini is the only recent grand slam finalist still there. He hopes to return after years of injuries and a drop outside the top 100. The remaining seeds in that section are Felix Auger-Aliassime and Cobolli, ranked four and ten. Both now have a strong chance to reach a grand slam final. Saturday brought unusual results, with five of eight matches going to five sets, some lasting five hours. Nerves affected many players from start to finish. Few played freely. Frances Tiafoe, the 19th seed, spoke to reporters near 1am on Sunday after winning from two sets down against qualifier Jaime Faria. Tiafoe noted it was the biggest comeback of his career and hinted at the unusual situation. He later lost in five sets to Matteo Arnaldi. Such chaos is rare in men’s tennis recently but common in women’s events during the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era. Madison Keys waited over five hours on Saturday while Berrettini finished a long match. Berrettini then beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo in straight sets to reach the last eight. Auger-Aliassime defeated Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 and will face Cobolli next. He asked for support from the Paris crowd, saying he feels at home despite not being French. Keys observed that men’s players seem anxious about the final rather than the present match. She noted the excitement when unexpected results occur.
