Sweet Dreams Power Cobolli’s Wimbledon Surge

Alsharq Tribune- Sara Benkraouda 

Flavio Cobolli is living proof that, at Wimbledon, a good night’s sleep might be the ultimate performance enhancer.

The 23-year-old Italian crashed into his first Grand Slam quarter-final on Monday with a fearless win over Marin Cilic and was quick to credit his new, improved lodgings for feeling great.

Cobolli, who has been wielding his fluorescent orange racket with the bravado of a man on a mission, revealed afterwards that his Wimbledon campaign nearly derailed over that classic London problem: the flat that just was not quite right.

“I had some problem with my first house but now I find the great solution. I slept well. I have a great relationship with the guy that I rent the apartment. Now I'm in good shape,” he grinned.

Pressed for details, Cobolli confessed it was less luxury penthouse and more hot box at the start. “Was too hot and a little bit small. But yeah, now I found the right solution,” he explained, with a shrug that said it all. A quick switch, a friendly landlord, and suddenly Cobolli was sleeping soundly.

With the off-court drama sorted, the on-court heroics followed: Cobolli carved up Cilic in four sets, looking every inch the man at home in SW19. Sometimes all it takes to become a Wimbledon quarter-finalist is a bigger room, a cooler breeze —and a landlord who answers his phone.