Flavio Cobolli copied Matheus Cunha’s celebration at Wimbledon after a five-set win over Karen Khachanov, and the 24-year-old later said the gesture came from a bet with his coach. Cobolli advanced to the last 16, where Alex de Minaur waits on Monday.
Cobolli's bet with his coach
Cobolli said, "It was a bet with my coach." He added, "We were watching the World Cup and this is the Brazilian striker [Cunha] that I love to repeat."
That explanation turned a brief celebration into the clearest detail of the match. Cobolli did not just reach the next round; he tied a Wimbledon result to a football gesture that he had already made his own while following Matheus Cunha scores Brazil's first goal.
Khachanov pushed Cobolli
The scoreline tells the rest of the story. Cobolli beat Khachanov 0-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 on court two on Saturday, recovering after trailing two sets to one before closing it out in five sets.
That makes the tribute sharper. Cobolli’s lighthearted gesture came after a match he nearly lost, and the contrast is part of why the moment drew attention beyond the court. Cunha replied on Instagram, "Go for it, man," after the Wimbledon win.
De Minaur in the last 16
The result sends Cobolli into the last 16 against Alex de Minaur on Monday. His celebration has now moved from a single match into a wider conversation, with Cunha’s name attached to a Wimbledon win and the football link carrying through both sides of the exchange.
Cunha had scored three times at the tournament in North America and had 10 goals across all competitions for United last season, which helps explain why Cobolli singled him out. After Brazil beat Japan 2-1 in Houston with a 96th-minute winner, Cunha’s profile was already growing in the football round, and the Wimbledon moment gave it another stage.
