Flavio Cobolli Reveals ‘Crazy’ Rafael Nadal Shower Superstition After Reaching Roland Garros Semifinal

Flavio Cobolli is into the Roland Garros semifinal. He ended Felix Auger-Aliassime‘s run in four sets in the quarterfinal to reach the last four of a Major for the first time in his career.

Cobolli, who prior to this event had made just one Major quarterfinal (in last year’s Wimbledon), had never made it past the third round in Paris. After his win, Cobolli, at the press conference, shared a Rafael Nadal anecdote while talking about superstitions. The Italian said that Nadal once knocked on the door of a shower in the locker room and requested Cobolli to make it quick.

I am a little bit (superstitious), but not crazy. But you know, this week, I’m a little bit more crazy than the others. I just go to same restaurant, same menu, same shower. Actually, I think I said in the first ​press conference that ​I used the ⁠same shower as Rafa Nadal, because I had memories with that shower… He ⁠told me ​that it has been his shower ​since 14 years. So I think the best thing that I’m doing (this ​year)… the shower.

The 14-time French Open champion met Cobolli just once. They clashed in the first round of the 2024 Barcelona Open, which the 22-time Grand Slam champion won in straight sets. Later at the Davis Cup, the Spaniard hung up his racket after his defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp in the Spain versus the Netherlands quarterfinal tie. Nadal won his last Roland Garros title in 2022.

Flavio Cobolli on playing the semifinal against an Italian

Flavio Cobolli will next be up against Matteo Arnaldi in the semifinals. Arnaldi, who will also be playing in his career’s first Grand Slam semifinal, received the walkover from Matteo Berrettini. So whoever between Cobolli and Arnaldi wins, an Italian will reach the final.

It will definitely be another derby, but I think we should be happy for Italian tennis. Other Italians, in addition to Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, will be in the final this week, so we should be happy, and we should enjoy the match.

Flavio Cobolli said at the press conference

Musetti withdrew from the French Open due to an injury, while Sinner, who was bidding to become the seventh man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam, suffered a shock second-round exit, losing to Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Arnaldi, before this event, had played in the Grand Slam fourth round twice. He reached the last 16 of the 2023 US Open and the 2024 French Open. The 25-year-old has yet to clinch a singles title in his career.

Cobolli, on the other hand, has so far lifted three singles titles from five finals, including two titles on clay (last year’s Romanian Open and Hamburg European Open). This year, he has played two finals. After beating Frances Tiafoe in the Mexican Open final, he lost the Munich Open final to Ben Shelton.

Arnaldi and Cobolli are tied at 1-1 in the head-to-head matchups. The winner of the Cobolli versus Arnaldi match will meet Alexander Zverev or Jakub Mensik. Zverev is the only semifinalist who has played a Grand Slam final. The three-time Grand Slam finalist also featured in the Roland Garros title clash in 2024, losing the match to seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Zverev reached the last four of the French Open for the fifth time in his career after ending Rafael Jodar‘s run. Mensik, on the other hand, ended the campaign of Joao Fonseca, who knocked out three-time Paris Major champion Novak Djokovic in the third round. Zverev holds a 1-0 head-to-head record over Mensik.

Also read: Joao Fonseca Explains How Roland Match Versus Jakub Mensik Was Different Compared to Ones He Played Against Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud