Acapulco
Cobolli beats Tiafoe for Acapulco crown, joins Alcaraz & Sinner in this feat…
Italian set for a new career high in Monday’s PIF ATP Rankings
March 01, 2026
Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images
Flavio Cobolli defeats Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4), 6-4 in the Acapulco final.
By ATP Staff
Flavio Cobolli captured his first hard-court ATP Tour title and third overall Saturday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. Seeded fifth in Acapulco, the Italian produced a high level to down Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4), 6-4 in the championship match.
Cobolli pummelled his forehand with pinpoint accuracy and displayed his shotmaking ability throughout the clash. Thanks to his title run, Cobolli will rise to a career-high No. 15 in Monday’s PIF ATP Rankings.
“When I was a kid, I was dreaming for this moment,” said Cobolli. “For this kind of tournament, playing on the center court with people cheering for me. I’m very proud, not only for me, but also for the people that work for me — my dad, my family, the rest of my team. They will help me a lot.”
The 23-year-old is the fourth man born in the 2000s to win ATP 500 titles on multiple surfaces, joining Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Arthur Fils.
Despite entering the final winless against Tiafoe in their previous two Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings, Cobolli showed no signs of hesitation. Shortly after letting slip a set point on return at 5-4 in the opener, he trailed 1/3 in the tie-break, but won six of the final seven points to gain a one-set advantage.
Tiafoe did not earn a break chance until the eighth game of the second set, converting his third opportunity to that game to level the score at 4-4. It offered a glimpse of hope for Tiafoe, who earned multiple wins in dramatic fashion this week, saving two match points to beat in Aleksandar Kovacevic in the second round. Tiafoe also needed a heroic effort in the semi-finals to overcome Brandon Nakashima, who served for a straight-sets win before the eighth seed launched his comeback.
Such theatrics were not to be in the final. Cobolli held his nerve after dropping serve, earning a break back and successfully serving out the match after two hours and nine minutes.
“I think I deserve it for how I work outside the court,” Cobolli said. “After the losses, I work again on court and I just want to say that I’m very proud of myself. It was a great match today, I think it was the best of the tournament for me. I never won against [Frances] before today, so I’m very happy.”
Last year, Cobolli won the ATP 250 event in Bucharest and the ATP 500 tournament in Hamburg. He is the youngest Acapulco champion since a 22-year-old Dominic Thiem in 2016.