Cobolli ends Wawrinka's Lyon run as Swiss heads to Basel for final event

Stan Wawrinka's penultimate tournament is over. The 41-year-old Swiss lost 6-2, 6-4 to top seed Flavio Cobolli in the second round in Lyon on Thursday evening. Only one event now remains in his career: next week's Swiss Indoors in Basel.

Wawrinka, now ranked 140th and playing in Lyon on a wildcard, had won a three-set battle against Martín Landaluce in his opener. Against the world No. 6 there was no repeat.

A strong start, then Cobolli took over

The three-time Grand Slam champion began well, losing only one point across his first two service games, Swiss broadcaster RTS reported. Then Cobolli found his range. The Italian broke twice in a row to close out the first set in under 30 minutes, and in the second he broke early and never let the lead slip. Wawrinka created just one break point all match, according to 20 Minutes. Cobolli finished it in a little over an hour.

It was the Italian's third win in three meetings with Wawrinka, after a three-set match at the 2024 Shanghai Masters and another three-setter at this year's United Cup. Unlike those two, this one was never close once Cobolli settled.

Cobolli was quick to pay his respects. "It was a pleasure to share the court with you today," he told Wawrinka, according to the ATP. "Today I was a little bit more nervous than the other times."

One last stop in Basel

Wawrinka's attention now turns to Basel. According to 20 Minutes, he will play his first-round match at the Swiss Indoors on Tuesday evening, and the organisers plan to pay tribute to the three-time major champion at a ceremony on Monday. The 2014 Australian Open, 2015 Roland Garros and 2016 US Open winner has said that 2026 would be his final season.

Lyon was still a reminder of what he can do. His first-round win over Landaluce went the full three sets. On Thursday the gap to a top-10 player in form was clear, and the former world No. 3 now has one more week on the tour.

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Fritz survives ankle scare

Cobolli, who sits fifth in the ATP Live Race to Turin, plays Brandon Nakashima in the quarter-finals. The Lyon week matters for the Italian's push for a spot at the ATP Finals.

The same goes for second seed Taylor Fritz, 13th in the race, who beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-2, 7-5. The American gave the crowd a scare early in the second set when he rolled his ankle chasing a slice, but he returned after a medical timeout. "Luckily for me, as the second set went on, I started to feel less pain," Fritz said. He faces Germany's Daniel Altmaier next.

Elsewhere, Frenchman Luca Van Assche came back to beat Valentin Vacherot 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 for his third ATP quarter-final of the season. He meets Lorenzo Musetti for a place in the semi-finals.