'The chance of my life': Cobolli looking to spring surprise in Roland Garros decider

[p]The 24-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cobolli-flavio/zDtaCcPe/"]Cobolli[/a] will meet [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zverev-alexander/dGbUhw9m/"]Alexander Zverev[/a] in his [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/cobolli-f-zDtaCcPe/zverev-a-dGbUhw9m/?mid=b94RLVkm"]first-ever Grand Slam title match[/a], where he will seek to go one better than [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Sinner[/a] managed last season and become the first Italian man to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires since Adriano Panatta in 1976.[/p][p]Since world number one Sinner, the overwhelming favourite for the title, fell to a shock second-round defeat, the men's draw in Paris has been wide open.[/p][p]Cobolli, the 10th seed, said this year's Roland Garros was [b]"the chance of my life" [/b]after he beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/auger-aliassime-felix/CzXh4LAb/"]Felix Auger-Aliassime[/a] in the quarter-finals, before getting a walkover into the final when his compatriot [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arnaldi-matteo/hlVLAfZK/"]Matteo Arnaldi[/a] pulled out of their last-four showdown due to a virus.[/p][p]On the back of his run at the French Open, Cobolli will break more new ground in his career by entering the top 10 for the first time.[/p][image alt="Cobolli's career stats on Tour" id="6ef1471a-edda-43dd-b7e5-f479634830ed" credit-line="Flashscore (photo by REUTERS/Benoit Tessier)" guid="707f4149-fc49-4763-a4f6-6c1940afd60f" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]"I'm really happy for the result that I reached this week," [/b]Cobolli, who won the boys' doubles at Roland Garros in 2020, said.[/p][p][b]"My dad also came to me... and we had a big hug together with the whole team for achieving the top 10. Every time that I make the best ranking, we all together have a big hug."[/b][/p][p]If so far, Cobolli has not achieved as much success as Sinner or current Italian number two [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/musetti-lorenzo/xtH2ODVI/"]Lorenzo Musetti[/a], all that could change on Sunday.[/p][p]Should he add a major to his clay-court titles in Hamburg and Bucharest from last season, as well as a hard-court title picked up in Acapulco earlier this year, Cobolli will ensure his place in the history books of tennis.[/p][h2]A little bit superstitious[/h2][p]However, tennis was not, and is not, Cobolli's sole passion in life.[/p][p]Born in Florence in 2002, Cobolli spent his childhood in Rome and played in the academy set-up of his beloved AS Roma.[/p][p]If by his own admission "I even liked more (football) than tennis when I was young," Cobolli decided he preferred playing an individual sport, where he had to rely on nobody but himself and his father and coach Stefano Cobolli -- also a former professional tennis player.[/p][video alt="Cobolli vs Zverev (video preview)" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="3bbe96c6-411e-479f-a460-5631721191f7" id="e0a6ada6-c8c7-4605-a9a7-7335c6ea3f14" /][p][b]"In the end, I don't like to play with a team; only in Davis Cup. So I decided to quit with football,"[/b] Cobolli said.[/p][p][b]"I mean, when I play tennis, I feel different emotions, and I feel better with myself."[/b][/p][p]He nonetheless remains an avid football fan and even made a re-appearance on Court Philippe Chatrier shortly after his last-16 win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/svajda-zachary/vynGYhMa/"]Zachary Svajda[/a] to meet Paris Saint-Germain stars, including Ousmane Dembele, and take a selfie with the Champions League trophy.[/p][p]Cobolli is also a self-proclaimed creature of habit, and admitted that superstitious trait had blossomed over his fortnight in Paris.[/p][p][b]"I am a little bit (superstitious), but not crazy," [/b]he joked.[/p][p][b]"But, you know, this week I'm a little bit more crazy than the others. I just go to the same restaurant, same menu, same shower."[/b][/p][image alt="Zverev vs Cobolli - Last four meetings" id="a2234c07-f699-4b88-a638-fc6377da909f" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="0ce85d44-1270-4db0-8d66-00d1c7d06c99" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]That particular shower was not selected at random either; it was the chosen Roland Garros stall of 14-time champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nadal-rafael/xUwlUnRK/"]Rafael Nadal[/a].[/p][p][b]"I used the same shower as Rafa, because I had a memory with that shower that I (was using it), and he knocked, and I had to hurry because he was waiting for me," [/b]Cobolli said.[/p][p][b]"He told me that it was his shower for 14 years."[/b][/p][p]If Cobolli wins his first Grand Slam title this weekend, he might find he has some stiff competition to use that shower during his title defence next year.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/cobolli-f-zDtaCcPe/zverev-a-dGbUhw9m/?mid=b94RLVkm"]Follow the French Open final with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]