Who is Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon quarter-final opponent? Rising star Flavio Cobolli
When it comes to Flavio Cobolli, football’s loss was truly tennis’ gain.
The 23-year-old, who has reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon, has been in the form of his life in recent months, showcasing the talent that has long marked him as one of the ATP Tour’s hottest prospects.
However, born in Florence and raised in Subiaco, just a few kilometres from Rome, he could have chosen a different path in sports altogether.
The son of former professional tennis player Stefano, who reached a career-high of world No 236 and is now his coach, Cobolli first picked up a racket at the age of two.
But his attention as a child later turned to football, joining the AS Roma academy and playing four times a week – compared to playing tennis just twice a week.
Cobolli was a right-back in Roma’s academy, playing alongside the likes of Riccardo Califiori, but, aged 14, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and commit to a professional tennis career.
Whether he could have become a Roma and Italian football great will remain unknown, though there is no doubt that he has found huge success on the tennis court.
Cobolli won the boys’ doubles title at the French Open in 2020 and won his first ATP Tour-level match in 2021, before making his Grand Slam and top-100 debut in 2023.
He would go on to break the top 30 and reach his first tour-level final in 2024, losing to Sebastian Korda in Washington, though the start of 2025 proved a significant challenge.
After winning two matches at the United Cup, the 23-year-old then lost eight in a row, including opening-round losses at the Australian Open, Indian Wells Masters, and Miami Open.
Cobolli had fallen to 45th in the world by the time he entered the Bucharest Open in April where, after receiving a round-one bye, he snapped his losing streak by defeating Richard Gasquet in round two.
That sparked a resurgence almost out of nowhere, with the third seed then beating Filip Misolic, Damir Dzumhur, and top seed Sebastian Baez to win his first ATP Tour title.
The following month, Cobolli claimed an even bigger title at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg, downing Andrey Rublev in the final to move to what was then a career-high of world No 26.
He was beaten in round three of the French Open by Alexander Zverev, but did not drop a set on his way to the fourth round of Wimbledon, his first second-week showing at a major.
“Because I start the year very bad, and won big victory like in Bucharest or in Hamburg, [it] makes something in my stomach change a lot,” said Cobolli, after beating 15th seed Jakub Mensik in round three.
“I try to be better also outside the court. I try to do the right things to be better in the court and outside the court.
“So I think it’s changing something, and also with the team I work a little bit better. Yeah, I think this is the key to being a great player.”
Wimbledon News
Novak Djokovic makes ‘nervous’ confession after surviving worst-ever start to Wimbledon match
Cobolli made it 11 sets in a row at Wimbledon after moving two sets up against former finalist Marin Cilic in round four, before the Croatian threatened to fight back.
However, in the biggest match of his career to date, the 22nd seed held firm, rallying from a break down in the fourth set to claim a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(3) victory.
“This is something that I dreamed since when I was young, since when I start to play tennis,” he commented.
“Everyone on my family, on my team, told me every day that I born to play match like this because they saw me really cold, electric on the court. They always told me that I live for this kind of match.
“I think is true because I really love to play against a big player, against a legend of our sport. I like to play on this kind of stage, this kind of tournament. I really love to play here in Wimbledon. I love to play on grass.
“Now I’m really emotional because this is the day that I never forget, for sure. I played a really good match today. I’m very proud of myself, about my attitude on the court.
“I think I believe since the first point of the match [I could] win today.”
Triumph over Cilic will power Cobolli to a big rankings breakthrough, with the Italian set to crack the top 20 of the ATP Rankings for the first time, a remarkable turnaround after his struggles earlier in the year.
But things certainly do not get any easier for Cobolli, who now faces sixth seed and seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic for a place in the semi-final.
Djokovic is Cobolli’s tennis idol and the two have already met before on the ATP Tour, with the 24-time Grand Slam winner sweeping his way to a 6-1, 6-2 victory in Shanghai last Autumn.
Turning the tables on the Serbian will prove a significant test for Cobolli, who was just five years old when Djokovic won his first major title at the 2008 Australian Open.
But, after a tense four-set win over Alex de Minaur on Monday, Djokovic himself is gearing up for a tough test against the Italian.
“He’s one of those players that he’s young and new names coming up that we are probably going to see quite a bit in the future,” remarked Djokovic, when asked about the 22nd seed.
“I must say that [I am] pleasantly surprised with his result on grass because he doesn’t strike me as a grass court specialist with his game, but he reached the quarterfinals.
“He’s beaten Cilic and some big servers and big players that are grass court specialists, so to say. So huge credit to him.
“He’s a big fighter. We get along well. We practice whenever we can. We just had a hug. We embraced each other after the match. Actually we saw each other on the terrace.
“Let the better player win. What can I say? It’s quarterfinals now. I definitely need to work on my game and start the match in quarters better than I did today. I wasn’t very happy with the performance, particularly in the first part of the match.
“I need to improve that in order to have a best chance to proceed.”
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