A new Cobolli after his time at the Laver Cup: "I used to eat at McDonald's before"

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An unforgettable week has passed for Flavio Cobolli in Berlin as part of #TeamEurope in Laver Cup 2024. Even though his role was secondary, serving as a reserve, the Italian has been accumulating incredible moments with his teammates, absorbing every minute at the Uber Arena to enhance an evolution that was already very good this season. His improvement this season is undeniable, although surely the masterclass he received by being surrounded by so many champions will elevate his quality to another level in the coming months. In a conversation with ATP, the World No. 31 reflected on his recent experience.

“I have learned a lot from all the guys, they are all incredible. I didn't know anyone from the team except Carlos Alcaraz, but from the very first day I came here, they treated me very well, helped me in every way. They gave me some advice for the future and the rest of the season, all of them were very nice to me, so I enjoyed every moment lived this week a lot,” emphasizes the tennis player from Florence, Laver Cup champion thanks to the effort of all his teammates, especially Alcaraz who contributed 8 of the 13 points to secure the title for Europe.

“I did know Carlos well; we are the same age which also helps us to be a bit closer,” admits Cobolli, an approachable and friendly person from the very beginning. “We have a good relationship, I like talking to him about things other than tennis. Although I also asked Grigor (Dimitrov) about many other topics, also Zverev. These guys already have a lot of experience in their careers, although at his age Carlos has already become a legend in our sport. However, we prefer to talk about football and other things,” recognizes the Italian about how he relates to his teammates.

“It’s been a season of great learning,” adds a man who started the season outside the top 100. "Not only being close to some world top 5 players, but also to all the top 50 players I met; they are all truly professionals and do not give anything away. I saw how they spend a lot of time recovering physically, staying healthy to compete every week. I saw how they approach each training session at 100%... in my case, it was far from that; I used to do it at 70-80%, I even used to eat at McDonald’s. After seeing it, I have changed many things,” he admits somewhat embarrassed.

THE ORIGIN OF CHANGE

But Cobolli’s big change had a starting point, a turning point during preseason when he traveled with his team to Alicante to spend a few weeks in December with Carlos Alcaraz and company. He learned so much during those days in Spain that the result was immediate: he arrived at the Australian Open, went through qualifying, and made it to the third round, defeating players like Nicolas Jarry or Pavel Kotov along the way.

“I did a lot of work in the preseason, focusing on improving my game and mentality,” recalls the Italian. “We went to Juan Carlos Ferrero's Academy in Villena, and there we spent some days with Carlos. We worked together, he helped me in many aspects, we had fun together, so I am sure that those days helped me a lot for the start of the season, especially with the results I achieved. I learned a lot from his entire team, so thanks to them, I was able to have good results after the preseason,” he concludes before facing his next challenge, the ATP 500 in Beijing.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Un nuevo Cobolli tras su paso por la Laver Cup: “Antes comía en el McDonald’s”