Flavio Cobolli won the third ATP title of his career by defeating Frances Tiafoe at the Mexican Open.
The Italian produced a terrific display to fend off the American in straight sets and claim a much-needed 500 ranking points.
Cobolli has been tipped to challenge Alcaraz and Sinner and now he has cracked the top 15 of the ATP Tour rankings for the first time.
The Italian’s victory at the Mexican Open has seen him hit a milestone that only Sinner and Alcaraz have achieved in the last year.
Flavio Cobolli emulates Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner with Acapulco win
Cobolli’s victory in Acapulco means he now holds ATP 500 titles across two surfaces, having previously won the Hamburg Open on clay.
The Italian is now only the third active player to achieve that feat in the last year, after the top two players in the world.
Which member of the ‘Big Three’ is Carlos Alcaraz most similar to? Let us know why below👇
Alcaraz is the only player to win events on all three surfaces, with three clay-court tournaments, one grass-court event, and five hard-court events in the last year.
Players who have won ATP 500 events or higher on multiple surfaces in the last year
| Player | Grass court event wins | Clay court event wins | Hard court event wins |
| Jannik Sinner | Wimbledon | N/A | ATP Finals, Paris Masters, Vienna Open, and China Open |
| Flavio Cobolli | N/A | Hamburg Open | Mexican Open |
| Carlos Alcaraz | Queen’s | Italian Open, Monte Carlo, and Roland Garros | Qatar Open, Australian Open, Japan Open, US Open, and the Cincinnati Open |
Sinner, meanwhile, has not won a clay court event in the last year, but his Wimbledon win ensured he has claimed two tournament surfaces.
The Italian won four hard court tournaments, all of which came in the final four months of the 2025 season.
Flavio Cobolli has just produced an incredible turnaround
Cobolli started the 2026 ATP Tour season in miserable fashion, with just one win from his first five matches.
The Italian was dumped out of the first round of the Australian Open and the Dallas Open by Brits, with Arthur Fery and Jack Pinnington Jones producing scalps.
Cobolli entered the Mexican Open with a worrying 3-5 record, but his five straight wins in Acapulco have already reversed that statistic to 8-5.
What would have happened if Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played at the same time as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal?
He will now head to Indian Wells brimming with confidence, where he will be looking to reverse another strange record.
The Italian is yet to win at the Masters event in his first two appearances, having lost in the first round to Colton Smith and Ben Shelton in the last two years.
The star is already guaranteed to reach the second round, as he has received a first round bye thanks to his ranking.
After his first ATP title win of the year, Cobolli could well be a dark horse to win one of the biggest events on the calendar.
