Flavio Cobolli and Arthur Fils, who are two of the rising stars on tour, will be in second-round action at the Hamburg ATP 500 on Thursday. Cobolli is going up against Zhizhen Zhang, while Fils is facing Laslo Djere.
Flavio Cobolli vs. (8) Zhizhen Zhang
Zhang and Cobolli will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the first time at the ATP level when they battle for a quarterfinal spot at the Hamburg Open on Thursday. They split their two previous encounters in 2021 and 2022; Zhang got the job done 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at a clay-court Futures event in Biella three years ago before Cobolli prevailed 6-4, 6-3 on the indoor hard courts of the 2022 Florence Challenger.
Both players have been in fine form for the most part this year, having combined for 49 tour-level victories (Cobolli 20, Zhang 19). It is Cobolli who has really excelled over the past couple of seasons, announcing himself as one of tennis’ future stars. The 22-year-old Italian has climbed to 48th in the rankings thanks in part to advancing at least one round in all three Grand Slams so far in 2024, and he has won at least one match in seven of his last nine starts after knocking off Daniel Altmaier 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 in the Hamburg opening round. This should be a high-quality clay-court contest, with a very slight edge going to Cobolli.
Pick: Cobolli in 3
(5) Arthur Fils vs. Laslo Djere
Following a fourth-round performance at Wimbledon, Fils is up to a career-high ranking of No. 28 and in position to be seeded at the U.S. Open–and for all other Grand Slams moving forward. It was an encouraging result at the All-England Club, especially considering that grass does not project to be Fils’ favorite surface. The 20-year-old’s lone ATP title has come on the red clay of Lyon in 2023 (he also finished runner-up on the indoor hard courts of Antwerp this past fall). Maintaining momentum from Wimbledon, Fils kicked off this week with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jaume Munar.
Up next for the Frenchman is a first-ever meeting with Djere, who advanced by beating Zizou Bergs 6-3, 7-6(4) on Monday. It was a much-needed win for the 57th-ranked Serb, who is 4-11 this season and had not won a match on the main tour since Miami in March. Although Djere is good on clay, Fils is simply on a different level right now.
Pick: Fils in 2
