“The night before I couldn't sleep… Nadal is always Nadal, no matter how he arrives” – Flavio Cobolli opens up on facing Spaniard in Barcelona Open 1R

Italy's Flavio Cobolli recently opened up about his experience of playing Rafael Nadal at the 2024 Barcelona Open.

Cobolli faced an upsetting loss to the Spaniard in the first round of the Barcelona Open on Tuesday, April 16. His serve was challenged a staggering ten times and he failed to defend it on four occasions. The two played for 104 points in total with Nadal winning 60 to advance with a 6-2, 6-3 win.

It was notably Cobolli's first matchup against the 22-time Grand Slam champion and that too came at the Barcelona Open, a clay event the latter has won a record 12 times in his career.

Cobolli recently touched down in Madrid for the city's Masters 1000 tournament and got off to a postitive start with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over Alejandro Tabilo in his opener.

After the win, Cobolli spoke with Punto de Break and was asked to weigh in on his Barcelona Open experience. He replied:

"It was an incredible experience to have the opportunity to play against Rafa. I tried to do the best I could, play point by point, I have a lot of respect for Rafa." (translated)

The Italian then admitted to being so nervous that he couldn't sleep the night before the meeting with the Spaniard. Cobolli continued:

"Obviously, I couldn't, it was a match where I was nervous, the night before I couldn't sleep.

"Nadal is always Nadal, no matter how he arrives, so it would have been better to play against someone from the Qualifiers. The truth is that I really enjoyed playing against him, it was a unique experience, at least I was able to enjoy it."

---

Rafael Nadal to face Alex de Minaur, Flavio Cobolli up against Nicolas Jarry in Madrid Open 2R

Flavio Cobolli

Rafael Nadal and Flavio Cobolli will play their respective second-round matches at the 2024 Madrid Open on Saturday, April 27, at the La Caja Magica stadium in the Spanish capital.

Cobolli will take the court first against Nicolas Jarry, the 22nd seed from Chile. It will notably be his second meeting with Jarry on the tour as he already has a win over the Chilean from the first round of the 2024 Australian Open. Jarry entered the second round on the back of a bye in the first.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion also faces a seeded opponent in the form of Alex de Minaur in the second round. He has three wins over de Minaur in their five meetings with the most recent being a loss in Barcelona.