"Novak Djokovic is going through a difficult time but he will always remain my idol, he is the one I feel closest to among the Big 3" - Flavio Cobolli

Italian teenage sensation Flavio Cobolli revealed in a recent interview that Novak Djokovic is his idol. The Italian said he preferred the World No. 1 over both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal because the Serb's playstyle appealed to him the most.

The World No. 165 won his maiden title on the Challenger tour at the ATP 80 Zadar Open on Sunday, defeating World No. 337 Daniel Michalski in the final in straight sets. Speaking in an interview with Tennis World Italia afterwards, the 19-year-old touched on what inspired him to pursue a career in tennis.

Cobolli, who reached a career-high ranking of World No. 8 on the junior circuit, noted that much like Djokovic, he too liked to play counter-attacking tennis. The Italian added that his favorite Next Gen player is World No. 13 Taylor Fritz.

"Novak Djokovic is my idol. He is going through a difficult time, but he will always remain my idol. He is the one I feel closest to among the Big-3 because we both like to defend and counter-attack," Cobolli said. "Also, we both return well. Of the Next Gen players, on the other hand, I really like [Taylor] Fritz."

With his first Challenger title out of the way, the teenager revealed that he has his sights set on qualifying for next year's Australian Open and breaking into the top 100. While Cobolli's long-term goal is to become a mainstay on the ATP tour, his biggest dream is to triumph at Roland Garros at least once in his career.

"My goal is to qualify for the Australian Open and get to the Top 100. Even qualifying for the Next Gen in Milan would be a dream. In the long term, however, the goal is to arrive and stay on the Tour as much as possible," Cobolli said. "[But the main dream is to] win Roland Garros."

Novak Djokovic will return to action at the Monte-Carlo Masters

Novak Djokovic will play his second tournament of the year at the Monte-Carlo Masters

Novak Djokovic will look to win his first title of the year at the Monte-Carlo Masters next month. The World No. 1 has only played one tournament in 2022 - the Dubai Tennis Championships, where he won two matches before losing in the quarterfinals to Jiri Vesely.

The Serb, a two-time winner in Monte-Carlo, could face a stern challenge from a number of top players this year. The field is expected to feature eight of the top-10 players in the ATP rankings.

Only Rafael Nadal and Matteo Berretini are the top stars that will be missing in action. The Spaniard has been ruled out of the tournament due to a rib stress fracture and the Italian will miss out due to a hand injury.

It will also be interesting to see whether the Serb is World No. 1 when the tournament kicks off on 10 April.

Daniil Medvedev has reached the quarterfinals of the Miami Masters, and a win against Hubert Hurkacz will be enough for the Russian to reclaim the top spot from Djokovic once again.