LONDON (AP) — On his first match point, Flavio Cobolli stepped up and unleashed a 135 mph first serve down the T that landed on the line and sent a puff of chalk into the air on No. 1 Court at Wimbledon.Fifth-seeded opponent Alex de Minaur could barely touch the serve and the Australian’s weak return didn’t even go past his own service line.Cobolli reacted by leaping into the air and pumping his fist. He launched a ball into the crowd before moving forward to shake hands with De Minaur.Then the Italian moved on to the performance he’d been waiting for.Cobolli put his racket down and went back out into the center of the court and launched himself into the most iconic celebration in soccer: twirling in mid-air like Cristiano Ronaldo, he then landed on the grass with his feet planted wide and jerked his arms down by his side.The mostly English crowd knew just what was going on and shouted “Siuuu” along with Cobolli.
“I love his celebration. I love him,” said Cobolli, who was once a promising soccer player himself in Roma’s youth system. “I will cheer for Portugal (against Spain at the World Cup ) tonight because of Ronaldo.”In his previous match, Cobolli performed a surfing celebration borrowed from Brazil striker Matheus Cunha.
