“I need to hit something! I think I will hit my dad now" - Flavio Cobolli a relieved man after two-day battle on court

Flavio Cobolli does not make his life easy at times. He was able to prevail in a contest lasting over two days against Mariano Navone, saving six set points in the fourth set ahead of winning 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-6(8) in the first round of Wimbledon.

The match began on the Tuesday among a number of first round matches. Defending a quarter-final from last year, Cobolli was in fine form following his run to the final of Roland Garros, although an early exit in Halle meant that he had limited experience on grass this year.

That showed against the Argentine in the first set when he was thrashed 6-1 in just 28 minutes. He then found himself a break down in the second set but rallied and forced a tiebreak. He levelled the match up before winning the third set.

Poor lighting at Wimbledon meant that the match was set to continue the next day. It was as frustrating wait for Cobolli who came back the next day a determined man. He was hoping to get it done quickly, but was dragged into a real dog-fight.

Navone will leave SW19 with his head in his hands following six set points being thrown away. He broke the serve and had the chance to get level at 2-2. Three set points were wasted as Cobolli broke back and forced the second tiebreak of the match. Another three came and went as Cobolli took his second shot at glory with a mega match point, relief all over his face as he confirmed his spot in the second round.

Cobolli could not hide his emotions on court following the triumph. “Now I completely hate my life. It’s always like this. Always run. Always fight. I just wanna break something now. I cannot stop [moving his feet]. You see?” Cobolli commented during his on-court interview. “I need to hit something! I think I will hit my dad now.”

The interview seemed to be a bit muddled with a hitch in understanding what the Italian said, thinking that he said 'eat' instead of 'hit.' It was confirmed what Cobolli's intentions were.

“For sure. The first person that I will hit. I still don’t know with what. You’ll see tomorrow if he has a black thing on the face," he joked as the crowd laughed along.

Cobolli will take on James Duckworth in the second round as he looks to keep up his sublime recent form at Grand Slam level.