Flavio Cobolli praises friend Lorenzo Musetti and explains why he retired

After retiring in the third set against Lorenzo Musetti in the US Open men’s singles third-round Italian derby Flavio Cobolli pays tribute to his great friend, for a day opponent. Here are the words of the 23-year-old Roman.

“I didn&#8217t want to retire, I immediately told him and his team as well. It is something that I hate. When I leave the field, I feel much more sorry for my opponent, especially because it is him. He has all the merits to go on in this tournament”.

“It is absolutely not because I retired that he won today, he was better than me and still is. He played a perfect set and a half and definitely deserved the win. I was so tired, I am sorry I could not give a little bit’ more”.

“He is definitely on the ball, always has been and always will be. He has magnificent tennis and I think he needs to believe a little bit more in himself because he doesn&#8217t know the way he plays either. I couldn&#8217t find a single weakness in him today and so, in my opinion, he just needs to believe a little bit’ more.”

“Lori is among the best, and he is showing it to everyone. Compared to him I am definitely behind. I&#8217m kind of going the route he went a couple of years ago. I still have to improve a lot of things. I am doing well over the course of this season and this is just the beginning, I can&#8217t say where I can go. Where I want to go I know and there&#8217s still a long way to go”.

“I am going on vacation a few’ days, you think you have deserved a few days off in the calendar. Then I will come back here, and I will definitely be ready for the Laver Cup: I did not suffer a serious injury, in my opinion I just reached the limit of my gasoline and after some rest I will start training again.”