Adnkronos (Adnkronos) –
Flavio Cobolli celebrates his birthday at the 2026 Italian Open. Today, Wednesday, May 6, the Italian tennis player turns 24 and is preparing to make his debut in the second round of the Rome Masters 1000. Speaking at a press conference, Cobolli also spoke about his friend Riccardo Calafiori's Champions League final appearance with Arsenal: "Seeing Calafiori reach the final is amazing. I hope he can achieve this dream, but also that other one [winning the Premier League], which I won't say because he's very superstitious, and if I say it, he'll get pissed off with me.
I wish him the best of luck."
Cobolli, who will train on the clay courts of the Foro Italico this afternoon, was greeted with a cake, candles, and trumpets, not hiding a bit of embarrassment when members of his team and the FITP chanted "Happy Birthday to You." "Thank you, thank you so much," the tennis player said as he blew out the candle.
“A birthday wish? I can't say if it's a wish,” Cobolli replied with a smile when asked directly at the press conference. “I can sum it up by saying that I hope to raise the bar in this tournament compared to past editions.
I would never have experienced this tournament the way I wanted to and I hope that this year it finally happens."
The Internationals remain a special tournament for Cobolli: "Only Matteo (Berrettini, ed.) can understand, like I do, what it means for a Roman to play this tournament, at this club and with this crowd. There's a lot of pressure, but only because we put it on ourselves. It's the mistake we make, but it's also the unconscious desire to prove something more to ourselves," explained the world number 12. "Perhaps we're more influenced than we should be, and this leads to playing a lower level of tennis than we're suited to.
This time, however, I feel less pressure, I feel good also because I come from many tournaments played the right way and I arrive in Rome with a lot of self-confidence that I hope will help me".
Cobolli is now nursing his dream of breaking into the top ten of the ATP rankings: "I don't think about it much; it's a consequence that I hope will come with time. I'm doing everything I can to get there, but I'm not obsessed," the Italian replied. "I'm always trying to be world number 500 in terms of my approach. It's all new, and I want it to stay that way for now because it helps me give my best every day with peace of mind. I want to have fun and be carefree, because if we put too much pressure on ourselves, we won't perform well. I want to be the same Flavio I always am, who does things his own way, but I'm on a significant growth path. From sleep to nutrition, I'm following a very demanding routine for myself, and I think this is already an important step that can allow me to aspire to certain results."
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