He may have lost but Flavio Cobolli regards his quarter-final showdown against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon as one of the best matches of his career.
The 23-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough run at the SW19 to reach the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time. At the tournament, he defeated 15th seed Jakub Mensik and former finalist Marin Cilic to set up a clash with his idol Djokovic. Cobolli was just two years old when the Serbian made his ATP debut at the 2004 Umag Open.
Despite taking a set off the 24-time Grand Slam champion, the Italian lost 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. However, his performance was a big improvement compared to their first meeting on the Tour last year.
“Novak has been my idol since I started to play tennis,” Cobolli said during an interview with The Tennis Channel.
“I played him in Shanghai last year, and it was a disaster. I lost 6-1, 6-2, in 45 minutes. I was really nervous to play against him, but this time (at Wimbledon) I had more confidence in my game. On that day I came with more confidence in myself and I just tried to play my game and be happy about everything on that court.
“I think I played one of my best matches ever. I didn’t win, but it’s never easy to win against him at a slam.”
After the match, Djokovic praised the ‘huge improvement’ made by Cobolli in recent months and told reporters during his press conference that the tennis star has a ‘Bright future.’
After a lacklustre start to 2025, Cobolli found his footing during the clay swing, where he won his first two ATP titles in Romania and Germany. He is currently at a ranking high of 17th in the world.
“I think I did a great thing at Wimbledon, but also during this season because it started really tight and I was injured. I changed my game, my mind and now I’m really happy to play tennis on this stage.” He explained.
“I’m training a little bit more than before. I’m trying to listen to what my coach says. It’s my father. So, it’s not easy, but I’m trying to listen to him more than before.
“It’s working because I played better and my improvement is going up a little.”
Cobolli is back in action this week at the National Bank Open in Montreal. Seeded 13th in the draw, he began his campaign on Wednesday with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, win over Alexis Galarneau. He will next play Fabian Marozsan.