ATP Tour

Cobolli: 'I never expected all my life this kind of result'

Flavio Cobolli’s 2026 Roland Garros title bid may have come to an end on Sunday afternoon, but could the Italian’s run to his first major final prove a launching pad for even bigger and better things?

The 24-year-old was in a positive mood when speaking to media after Zverev’s 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 victory in Paris. While naturally disappointed, Cobolli was full of praise for his opponent and also emphasised his desire to cherish his run to the title match at the clay major.

“I want to say congrats to Sascha for this title,” Cobolli said in his post-match press conference. “I think he deserves it. I also think today he deserved it more than me at the end of the match.

“But I want to say also thanks to me for what I did in these two weeks. I never expected all my life this kind of result, and I'm so proud of myself. So now I just want to have a great smile and enjoy the night with friends, with the people that I love. It's a final of Grand Slam, so I think in this room, no one expected a lot of me. So I have to be proud of myself and try and try and try again.”

One of the highlights of Cobolli’s display in his first Grand Slam final came in the fourth-set tie-break. Having let slip a first set point on his own serve at 6/4 when he missed a relatively easy volley, the Italian responded with a searing forehand on the run to earn a set-clinching mini-break.

“I just closed my eyes. Maybe [for] both [those points],” Cobolli said light-heartedly when asked about those moments. “I felt tired on the tie-break, but I also said to myself, ‘Go, go for it, and maybe go in and you win the set, and then let's see what happens in the fifth’. But I just closed my eyes, I think. That sometimes helps.”

Cobolli will on Monday rise four spots to a career-high World No. 10: He will be just the seventh Italian to become a Top-10 player in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings. Having now tasted his first slice of major final action, the 24-year-old is ready to dig deep to try and repeat the experience in future.

“This is something that you cannot predict, but I will try,” the three-time ATP Tour champion Cobolli said. “Like I said before, I will try and try and try, but when you reach the first final, why not a second? At the end, I think I deserved to be here [based] on these weeks. Maybe not in the next 10, 15 Slams but like I said also in the [trophy] ceremony, I'm still young.

“So I have to work a lot, enjoy this journey, and maybe if I work and enjoy a mix of things, maybe I will reach the final again.”