Italy’s young tennis player
Flavio Cobolli has opened up about
the feelings he had while facing the former world number one
Rafael Nadal in
the
Barcelona Open. The 37-year-old is often regarded as one of the greatest
players in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 22
Grand Slam titles.
Nadal has struggled with injury concerns and returned to the
court earlier in 2024 where he once again had a niggle during the Brisbane
International which ruled him out of action for nearly four months. The Spanish
legendary tennis star finally made his way back to the court in the Barcelona
Open where he defeated young Cobolli in the round of 64 in straight sets with a
score of 6-2, 6-3.
The 19-year-old was
recently quoted in a report where he revealed that he did not sleep the night
before facing the player who is also known as the ‘King of Clay’. "It was
an incredible experience to have the opportunity to play against Rafa,” said Coboli.
“I tried to do the best I could, play point by point, I have a lot of respect
for Rafa Obviously, I couldn't, it was a
match where I was nervous, the night before I couldn't sleep."Nadal is
always Nadal, no matter how he arrives, so it would have been better to play
against someone from the Qualifiers. The truth is that I really enjoyed playing
against him, it was a unique experience, at least I was able to enjoy it."