Flavio talks about his indoor adaptation and looks ahead to the Davis Cup: “I feel comfortable on these courts, ready to fight for a spot on the national team.”
After his win against Davidovich Fokina, Cobolli arrived at the press conference with a smile, and as the only Italian media outlet present, we took the opportunity to ask him a few questions.
Quote of the day:
“As soon as I arrived here in Vienna, I thought about how similar the conditions were to those in the Davis Cup.” – Flavio Cobolli
Q: “First of all, congratulations on the win, Flavio! I wanted to ask you about tie-breaks; at the start of the year they were a problem, but now you’ve won 10 out of the 11 you’ve played. What changed?”
Cobolli: “I don’t think anything specific changed, though it’s true that at the start of the year my team would tease me a lot about the tie-breaks. I think things shifted after I won the 2 tie-breaks against Davidovich Fokina in Washington. From there, the momentum changed, and I’ve been riding that wave ever since. I feel strong now in tie-breaks, and I’m moving forward with that positivity.”
Q: “Playing indoors might be a less familiar environment for you, and perhaps not where you feel most comfortable. How do you feel about it now?”
Cobolli: “A lot has changed on that front. Now it’s actually one of the conditions I prefer. On a court like this, which isn’t too fast and where the balls open up, I feel really comfortable. I still struggle a bit when the court is faster, but in these conditions, I adapt very well.”
Q: “Speaking of playing conditions, since it’s not too different from the Davis Cup courts here, what can you tell us about that? Have you been able to talk with Captain Volandri?”
Cobolli: “That’s one of the first things I thought about when I arrived here. This court is very similar to the one we played on in the Davis Cup, so we’ve modeled our game plan on what we did in Bologna. I haven’t spoken to Filippo yet, but he’s here in Vienna these days. We might have a chance to talk, and I’m available to the national team, ready to fight for a spot.”
Lastly, a funny moment occurred. This year, the press conference room was moved to the end of the tournament’s “museum,” a small exhibition with memorabilia that will certainly delight tennis fans. We were expecting some surprise appearances from fans, but we’ll have to wait for those. Today, we were entertained by a Hungarian colleague who tried to interview Flavio, mistaking him for Matteo Berrettini (Berrettini had just played against Hungarian Fucsovics). Flavio replied with humor: “I’m not Berrettini; he’s taller than me and has a better serve.” But as for his forehand, Flavio had nothing to envy about Matteo today.