Roma kid is playing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals!?

Flavio Cobolli, the 22nd seed at Wimbledon, is Novak Djokovic’s opponent in the quarterfinals. An unusual fact is that this Florentine, like Cobolli, supports Roma. Flavio is not only a passionate fan of the Wolves, but also a would-be footballer for the club.

Fate led him to start training with Roma’s youth teams at the age of eight, at the Trigoria Sports Center, where he spent a full five years. Bruno Conti brought him in on the suggestion of Zbigniew Boniek.

Since he trained both tennis and football simultaneously, he soon realized he had to choose a path — and he chose tennis. Meanwhile, some of his former teammates from Roma made it to the senior squad.

His closest friend from that time is Edoardo Bove, a Roma player currently on loan at Fiorentina, who collapsed on the pitch during a match against Inter last December due to cardiac arrest. Cobolli even got a tattoo with the number 52, which was Bove’s jersey number at Roma. Recently, Edoardo was in the VIP box watching Cobolli’s matches at Wimbledon.

On one occasion, Cobolli revealed how he switched fully from football to tennis:

“Bruno Conti helped me decide. Even though he kept saying I was a good footballer, I had to choose between the two sports. I realized the competition in football is fierce, and it’s very hard to break through. I trusted my instincts and didn’t overthink it. Maybe that was for the best. I’m proud of everything I’ve done so far. I think I made the right decision, although sometimes when I lose, I do regret it a little. But there’s no going back — what’s done is done,” Cobolli said.