After the decisive point, the scream of anger more than joy: “I’m strong too, idiot!”. Flavio Cobolli celebrates the great comeback against the Spaniard Rafael Jodar that allows him to reach the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters 1000, where he will face the American Tommy Paul (surprise winner over the number 1 seed Sasha Zverev, world number 2).
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The Roman’s outburst went viral on social media, with many fans immediately thinking of fiery words against the Spanish rival, a young prodigy but not a phenomenon of sympathy or sportsmanship. However, Cobolli’s customary hug and his insults accompanied by fiery looks towards the stands right after revealed the mystery: the ATP ranking number 9 was upset with some fans in the audience.
“How did I come back? I just have to believe in myself, I knew I would have a chance,” is Cobolli’s immediate comment after the three-set victory with the score 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 for his thirtieth win of the season. Two years ago in Ohio he had reached the round of 16 before being stopped by Hubert Hurkacz, but this time Cobolli took a step forward, beating the twenty-year-old Jodar coming from the final in the ATP 500 in Washington and the semifinal in the Montreal Masters.
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“Rafa comes from a couple of extraordinary weeks and I thought he might be a bit tired – the Italian said at the end of the match -. Towards the end I felt fresher and I managed to push myself to the limit to win. I don’t want to hear about pressure anymore, because I already put a lot of it on myself, or with my team. I have to fight with the pressure, but I also have to live it in the right way,” he added, thus explaining the liberating screams with which he vented after putting down the match point smash.
The first set of the match was balanced. Cobolli missed the chance to break already in the third game, but from 4-3 for the Spaniard both no longer held their service games and the advantage gained allowed Jodar to take the set. The balance continued in the second set, decided in the tiebreak, where Cobolli dominated closing it 7-3 and extending the match as he hoped. In the decisive set, the key game was the sixth, when Cobolli moved to 5-2, sprinting towards victory and advancing to the next round.
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but why insult jodar?
absurd#cobollipic.twitter.com/QD7KRuiYm0— Biasin (@Biasin_o) August 19, 2026
