Flavio Cobolli arrived at Wimbledon saying the courts may suit him better than most players expect. The Italian, after what has been the best stretch of his career, said the grass at Wimbledon is much slower than the surfaces he has played on before and, because of that, gives him more time to build points and show the tennis he trusts most.
That view is drawing attention now because Cobolli is not arriving as a newcomer hoping to survive the first week. He is coming off the best weeks of his career, and he says that form has changed the way he sees the tournament. He also said he felt very comfortable on these courts last year and wants to repeat that feeling, while doing even better this time.
Cobolli’s assessment was direct. He said the grass at Wimbledon is completely different from the grass used at the other tournaments before it, and he described the transition from clay to grass as tricky even if it has become easier as he has spent more time on the surface. But he argued that the slower pace can help him bring out his best tennis, because the ball stays in play longer and he can work the point rather than rush it.
That confidence is paired with an unusual calm. Cobolli said he does not feel any pressure to match his recent results, even after a run that has made him one of the season’s revelations. He said he already has enough on his own mind and that what matters now is repeating in training, in his daily routine away from the court and in difficult moments during matches what he managed in Paris. That is where the friction sits: he says he is not carrying pressure or anger, yet he is also trying to reproduce the same form that took him deep in Paris and use it as the base for Wimbledon.
He said a recent training session with Novak Djokovic was the best since he arrived, calling Djokovic his reference point and saying the exchange forced him to concentrate more than usual because he tried not to make mistakes and keep the ball where it needed to go. Cobolli also said Alexander Zverev asked him after Roland Garros whether he had already moved on from the defeat in Paris, and Cobolli replied that he had not been angry for a single minute. That response fits the mood he brought to Wimbledon: measured, confident and convinced that the slower grass can help, not hinder, what comes next.
The next test is simple. Cobolli now has to turn that comfort into results on the courts he says he already understands, and Wimbledon will show whether the surface he likes more and more can carry him another step forward.
