Wimbledon player threatens to hit his own dad as he vows to 'turn his face black'

Wimbledon ace Flavio Cobolli made a bizarre threat to hit his own father following his victory over Mariano Navone, moments after progressing to the second round of the tournament. The Italian, aged 24, defeated Navone 1-6 7-5 6-3 7-6 8 after their match resumed on Wednesday following a suspension due to poor light on Tuesday evening.

Immediately after his triumph, Cobolli was visibly agitated during his on-court interview. He confessed to hating his life after saving six set points to secure his place in the next round. "Now I completely hate my life. It's always like this. Always run. Always fight," he said. "Wow. I just wanna break something now."

The Italian then made a startling suggestion about his father, who serves as his coach. "I cannot stop moving his feet. You see I need to hit something. I think I will hit my dad now," Cobolli joked. When pressed further on the remark, he elaborated: "For sure. The first person that I will hit. I still don't know with what. You'll see tomorrow if he has a black thing on the face."

Cobolli's father, Stefano, is a former professional tennis player who transitioned into coaching. The pair have worked together since Flavio was seventeen years old. Cobolli has previously described their relationship as strong, emphasizing they keep tennis and family matters separate when at home.

"It is important that when we are home we don't talk about tennis," Cobolli explained in a prior interview with the ATP Tour. "If we fight on court we keep it on court. He is a great person and I love working with him."

BBC commentator Clare Balding reacted to the on-court remarks by describing Cobolli as one of her favourite players, whilst joking that he clearly needs anger management training.