Flavio Cobolli hopes to jump queue in French Open final against Alexander Zverev

Italian will start his first grand slam final as the underdog but he has shown he knows how to beat No 2 seed on clay

At almost the exact time Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Arnaldi had been scheduled to take to Court Philippe-Chatrier on Friday and contest the match of their lives, they could instead be located in the bowels of the stadium, their faces a picture of total misery inside the main interview room at Roland Garros.

If not for the seriousness of the situation, with Arnaldi forced to withdraw from his first grand slam semi-final due to a virus that had overwhelmed his body overnight, it would have been a comical sight. Somebody behind the scenes was not exactly of sound mind when they decided it was a good idea for Cobolli to sit next to an individual with a viral illness two days before his grand slam final.