Sawt Falasteen - Cobolli sinks Auger-Aliassime to book 'derby' French Open semi

By eliminating the Canadian fourth seed, Cobolli has ensured that there will be an Italian man in the final come Sunday.

At the start of the tournament, that eventuality seemed almost a given with top seed Jannik Sinner on a scintillating clay-court run.

However, the world number one stunningly lost in the second round and blew the top half of the draw wide open.

Three of his compatriots have more than taken advantage of that opening, with Matteo Berrettini and Matteo Arnaldi battling it out in the night session in the other top-bracket quarter-final.

Arnaldi, the winner of that match after Berrettini retired, will meet 10th seed Cobolli in the last four on Friday, after the 24-year-old overpowered world number six Auger-Aliassime.

It will be the first all-Italian Grand Slam men's semi-final in history.

"For sure it will be another derby, but I think we have to be happy for Italian tennis," Cobolli told reporters.

"Another Italian, apart from Sinner and Lorenzo (Musetti), are in the final this week. So we have to be happy, and we have to enjoy that match."

However, Cobolli said he won't watch the later match between "two of my good friends".

Instead, he said he adhered to his superstition of not altering a winning routine.

"I will do my same routine as every day," he said. "I go dinner with my friends, I go to bed and I sleep."

Italy has been the dominant force in the men's game in recent years, with the country winning the last three Davis Cups.

- 'More and more impatient' -

After an evenly-contested quarter-final across the first three frames, Cobolli earned the crucial break of serve in the fifth game of the fourth set.

He then served out to 15, booking his first Grand Slam last-four appearance with a stinging cross-court forehand winner.

By reaching the semi-finals, Cobolli will enter the ATP top 10 for the first time in his career.

"I felt like this is the chance of my life," Cobolli said. "I have to give everything in my matches and today I did that so I'm really happy."

Auger-Aliassime admitted he felt "destroyed" after missing out on the chance to move to a third Grand Slam semi-final, and first in Paris.

After Alexander Zverev in the other half of the draw, Auger-Aliassime was the highest-ranked player left in the tournament.

"I'm in a place right now with my tennis career that it's tough. You know, I'm a little bit, like, I'm destroyed today a little bit," the 25-year-old said.

Auger-Aliassime added he was "growing more and more impatient" at his lack of success in the biggest tournaments.

"It's tough. I usually handle losses pretty well, I have to say. Like, my whole career, I was going back to training with optimism and positivity," he said.

"Now I feel like I'm not the player I want to be, so today is a difficult day."

V.AbuAwwad--SF-PST