Flavio Cobolli fired Italy to victory against Austria in the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday evening.
The Italian capitalised on Matteo Berrettini’s opening victory, defeating Filip Misolic 6-1, 6-3 to send Italy through to the semi-finals in Bologna.
The Italian team will now face Belgium, following their victory over France in the quarter-finals.
Cobolli’s tie-clinching performance was extremely impressive: Austria’s Filip Misolic had little to no room for error throughout the match.
The Italian star has been a standout performer throughout 2025, becoming a household name for the very first time in his career.
He could be about to make a big jump in 2026 if he can continue to perform as he did on Wednesday.
Flavio Cobolli likes the pressure
After securing Italy’s triumph on Wednesday, Flavio Cobolli revealed how he feels about the pressure of being the Italian number one in Bologna.
When asked if he felt any extra nerves yesterday morning, Cobolli replied: “The same as always. I like the pressure. I like to play this kind of match.
“I mean, I really like the pressure. When I have the pressure, it’s means that I want to play, you know?
“So I feel great. I slept well, a lot of hours, so… at the end I was happy.”
Cobolli’s is comfortable with the pressure of being the Italian number one in Bologna, and that is a pleasing notion to hear.
All players struggle with the nerves created by pressure from time to time, even those playing at the top end of the ATP Tour.
The 23-year-old has risen from world number 32 to 22 in 2025, and could be set to break into the top 10 in 2026 if he can continue to manage pressure like he has done at the Davis Cup Finals so far.
Cobolli is one of the most talented players on the ATP Tou – it is only a matter of time until he makes the big jump into the top 10.
Will Flavio Cobolli deliver for Italy like Jannik Sinner did?
The Italian Davis Cup team are looking to achieve something for the first time in over 50 years.
Not since 1970 has a country won three consecutive Davis Cup titles. However, Italy could do so this year following title triumphs in 2023 and 2024.
In 2023 and 2024, the team were led by their talismanic star, Jannik Sinner.
Sinner is not playing for Italy at the 2025 Finals, leaving Flavio Cobolli to pick up the slack for his nation.
The expectations of a nation are weighing on Cobolli’s shoulders, and should he deliver on those expectations, he will become an iconic figure in the history of Italian tennis.
