Flavio Cobolli: Remember my name!

Most players dream big. They want to win a Grand Slam title, reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings and compete against the best players in the world. Flavio Cobolli, who will play 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the third round at Flushing Meadows Saturday evening, has something else in mind.

“I want the people to know about my name when I stop playing,” Cobolli told ATPTour.com. “So I want to be an important player, of course on the court, but also outside. I want to always smile, always try to have fun with this sport. So of course, I want to win a big tournament. And yeah, be a good player with a good ranking. But the first thing is for people to know about me after my career.”

The Italian has no interest in going through his career, retiring and sailing into the sunset as just part of the crowd. The 22-year-old wants to leave his mark on the sport and the world.

“I'm a guy with a big dream. I'm a guy happy to make other people happy,” Cobolli said. “I think I'm a good guy and I want to leave something to the other people, [make them want to] come to play tennis. I want to inspire people, of course.”

Cobolli has the game and the personality to do it. All eyes have been on the rise of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and recent Wimbledon semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti. Cobolli appears on his way to joining his countrymen.

The World No. 31 began the 2024 season with six tour-level wins. This year, he is up to 30 and counting. Standing six-feet tall, Cobolli’s pound-for-pound ball-striking is as pure as any young player on the ATP Tour.

Medvedev, his next opponent, said: “Never practised with him. I saw him play. He has, I think, really explosive tennis.”

“I'm a guy with a big confidence in myself, so I think this thing helps me a lot for playing with the big players,” Cobolli said. “So when I go on the court, I try to enjoy every point, every match, because I know I can do a big, big match with them. I just have passion for being a big player, I think. Of course, I have to work a lot. Of course, I have to [do] a lot of things [to] make this dream come true. But I think I have the tennis to do it.”

Cobolli’s coach is his father, Stefano Cobolli, who reached No. 236 in the PIF ATP Rankings. But his father has not always been his coach. They only started working together when Flavio was 17.

“He always told me, ‘You have to improve alone. You have to make your life alone, and then I will help you later’,” Cobolli recalled. “‘I’d like to make this work so I can help you later, when you are ready.”

Growing up, Cobolli played both football and tennis. One of his best and longest-standing friendships is with Edoardo Bove, the top-level football player who until recently played for AS Roma. They have known one another since age seven.

“We keep in touch every day. We have a big relationship. Also, when I'm home, we go to make dinner with our girlfriends, so we have a good relationship also with his family. When I win a match, his father is the first to write to me,” Cobolli said. “We started with tennis, because he was a tennis player also. And then we met in Trigoria, the place where Roma practises.”

Cobolli is never afraid to express how he feels. If you watch him play, you will notice plenty of tattoos, including some in Italian (one means “going for the win”) and others in Chinese (meaning “brave” and “passion”). He has the wolf of Roma and the symbol of Florence, where he was born and still has family. There are mountains and even what he calls a “grumpy face”, which is hidden.

Photo: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour
“My mom, for 18 years old, did this for me. The idea is grumpy, because she told me, ‘You are always mad with everyone’,” Cobolli said, cracking a smile. “I don't like the perfect guy. I'm not perfect. I like my character… My mom always tells me, ‘You are not perfect. I like you like this’.” 

Coblli added: “I like to make tattoos, because I like with my body painted,, and so there is no reason about that. I just like it. I wake up and I go. I booked another one after the US Open. We have to decide the date and also the tattoo.”

One of his most meaningful tattoos is something his idol, football legend and current AS Roma manager, would put on his captain’s armband as a player: “Sei tu l unica mia sposa sei tu I unico mio amor”.

In English, that means: “You are my only wife, you are my only love”.

“I was a good football player when I was young, so he inspired me a lot,” Cobolli said. “I grew up with his image, so it means a lot from him.”

Like the rest of his tattoos, Cobolli does not take the literal meaning seriously. He just likes it.

The Italian is a free spirit with a friendly face who enjoys sharing himself with the public on and off the court. The fans will discover this quickly the more he competes on big stages like he will Saturday evening inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, the biggest tennis-only stadium in the world.

The 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF competitor began the season just outside the world’s Top 100. Now he is the 31st seed at the US Open.

“I think my attitude is different right now, my attitude to the work. I think I worked a lot since the beginning of the season. I changed a lot of things,” Cobolli said. “I changed my fitness coach. I changed my food, mentally. I try to do the same things as the big players. I try to always play with the top five, top six, top eight, to keep something from them and put it in my game and in my life.”

Last year, Cobolli lost in the first round of US Open qualifying. Now he will try to oust a former champion in Medvedev to reach the second week at a major for the first time.

“It’s true, I have more comfort to spend time on these courts and I like so much to play in these elements,” Cobolli said. “I think I’m growing up little by little, so I’m happy about how I’ve grown up. It’s nice and I hope to make another big match.”

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