When Flavio Cobolli was crying his heart out on the court while embracing his good friend, Matteo Berrettini, at the Vienna Open, fans feared the worst. The All-Italian clash had a bitter anticlimax for Cobolli, the French Open runner-up, who could not go past seven games in the first set and had to retire with an injury. Fast-forward 24 hours or so, there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel for the World No. 6, who still might be in with a shot to end his season strong.

“Today’s scans showed a minor muscle strain,” said Cobolli on his Instagram story. “Tomorrow I’ll travel to Paris and do everything I can to play the tournament. I’m working with my team to get back to full fitness as soon as possible and be ready for the weeks ahead.”

The news will be a soothing balm for the Cobolli fans, as the Italian gears up for the Paris Masters. While much will depend on the exact severity of his injury, the tone of the message is optimistic, given that the next few weeks will be of immense importance for Cobolli, who is in real contention for a spot at the ATP Finals in Turin for the first time in his career. Ranked 6th in the ATP Race, the Italian will hope to get a couple of wins in Nanterre, which should be enough to guarantee him a spot.

Cobolli can take the decision to roll the dice and skip the Paris Masters, hoping that his current points tally will be enough to take through to Turin. The rest will give him additional time to recover and help him play at his best in Turin, where organizers will be keen on an Italian presence in the draw, as Jannik Sinner has already pulled out of the tournament. Not to mention, Cobolli is the highest-ranked singles player in the Italian Davis Cup team for the Finals starting on November 24. The World No. 6 was one of the driving forces behind the Italian victory last year, and the team will hope he will be fit for the competition.

Should Cobolli skip the Paris Masters, it will reduce the quality of the draw, which already has some injury concerns, which is par for the course during this stage of the season. Jakub Mensik has already withdrawn from the event, having suffered a head injury in Vienna. Even home favorite Arthur Fils has an injury cloud hanging over him, with the Frenchman having retired in his previous match against Taylor Fritz at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.

Even though he missed the Paris Masters, Cobolli is expected to reach the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals in his home country. However, the World No. 6 was not sitting idly after being injured in Vienna, but rather cheering on his good friend, Berrettini.

Flavio Cobolli Was Cheering On His Friend After Withdrawing in Vienna

If anyone had any doubts about the special bond that Cobolli and Berrettini shared with one another, they had only to look at the on-court interview of the latter after Cobolli retired. Berrettini was visibly emotional for his compatriot, empathizing with his misery, having himself led a career full of injuries.

Even though he was out of the Vienna Open, Cobolli was not missing the opportunity to cheer on his good friend in the tournament. The World No. 6 shared on his Instagram story that he was watching the quarterfinal contest between Berrettini and Alex de Minaur. The ending was not great, as Berrettini lost to the Australian in straight sets, and with Lorenzo Musetti losing early in the week, the Italian challenge in Vienna came to an end.

For Cobolli, playing against his compatriots has not been easy. Last year at the US Open, he had to retire in his match against Lorenzo Musetti. Not to mention, he was sad that another of his compatriots, Matteo Arnaldi, withdrew before the duo’s French Open semifinal clash due to illness.