"Just said to myself: 'Let's fight. You're here. You deserve it. Let's try'" - Flavio Cobolli seizes the opportunity at Roland Garros as historic Italian showdown awaits

Flavio Cobolli relished this opportunity of getting into a Grand Slam semi-final after winning his last-eight tie against Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. He has broken new ground at the French Open in fine fashion, now ready to battle it out for a spot in the final against a fellow countryman.

He was over the moon to be sitting down as a Grand Slam semi-finalist. "First of all, I'm very happy to be sitting here after winning this match. It means a lot to me and it's my first semi-final in a Grand Slam. It's a dream come true," he told the press. "I think today I played a really good match, especially after a tough first set and difficult conditions. Yeah, I'm really happy with the performance."

At the time, Cobolli did not know who he would play, but it would be someone called Matteo from Italy, that was for certain. What was also confirmed was historic for Italian tennis. It is set to be the first men's major semi-final competed between two Italians.

The final quarter-final ended abruptly early as Matteo Berrettini was forced to retire as more injury woes unfortunately got the better of him and handed the world number 105, Matteo Arnaldi, a maiden Grand Slam semi-final.

"It would be another Italian derby, for sure," Cobolli stated. "But I think we have to be happy for Italian tennis. Another Italian, apart from Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, is in the semi-finals this week. We have to be happy and enjoy the moment. I don't know yet who I'm going to play, but I've already played a derby this week, so it wouldn't be the first one for me. I think I'll be ready."

Coincidentally, these two met last year in the second round. Cobolli won that match in four sets after missing a match point in the third. It ended a three-match winning streak for Arnaldi who leads the overall head to head 3-2.

Cobolli was playing in his second Grand Slam quarter-final following Wimbledon last year where he would lose to Novak Djokovic after going a set up. Aside from that, deep runs in the big events have been rare. Just one Masters 1000 quarter-final was reached earlier this year in the Madrid Open, a sign of things to come on clay.

He has won three ATP titles, two at 500 level so he does know how to win. The latest came in the Mexican Open. It was a relieving change of fortunes for what had been a dreadful start to the year. Cobolli won just one match from his opening four tournaments before getting his first ATP win of 2026, away from the Untied Cup, in mid-February. It has changed for the better as he won the title in Acapulco as well as reaching the final of the BMW Munich Open, losing to Ben Shelton.

While he is experienced in these big events, a Grand Slam pales in comparison. It is then clear why nerves would be a factor in a match of such magnitude. "I tried to breathe during the changeovers. I didn't look at my team because I felt they were more nervous than me," he recalled. "I think I did something different from usual. I just tried to stay calm and play my tennis. In the last game today, I think I played really good tennis with a good serve and a good first shot."

His superstitions have been a bit more over the top this year, but this is not normally the case. "No, no, no. I mean, I'm a little bit superstitious, but not crazy. This week, though, I've been a little bit crazier than usual," he admitted.

"I go to the same restaurant, order the same menu, use the same shower. Actually, I said in my first press conference that I use the same shower as Rafa. I have a memory connected to that shower. Once I was taking a shower and trying to take my time. Then he knocked on the door and I had to hurry because he was waiting. He told me it had been his shower for 14 years. So I think the best superstition I have is using that shower."

These were the words ringing around the Italian's head as he went for a bathroom break one set down to Auger-Aliassime. He was not getting ahead of himself in terms of winning the title, just wanting to win this quarter-final match first up. "It's not usual to play a Grand Slam quarter-final, so I just said to myself: 'Let's fight. You're here. You deserve it. Let's try.' That's what I said."

As the title comes into view, he is taking it one step at a time. "For now, no. I just want to think about the next match. I know that I'm close—only two matches away—but it's still a long way."

The pressure has never been on the 24-year-old who is not putting up any expectations of himself. "It depends on how you approach these things," he said. I think I never put pressure on myself. I like to live the moment like I did when I was a kid—with big passion and a big smile. That's what I'll do in the next match as well."

Things could have been very different in Cobolli's life. Once training as a footballer, his father, who was a tennis coach, pulled him into the sport that he now is on the brink of almost mastering in terms of winning a major title.

He stated how his prior career as a footballer helped in terms of tennis. "Physically, for sure. It's a question everyone asks me, but I can't really answer it properly. Football definitely helped me in some way, but I can't tell you exactly how. What I can say is that I have good physical qualities and a lot of stamina. Maybe football helped me develop those things a lot."