Flavio Cobolli, feeling like a superhero at the Delray Beach Open.
The third-seeded Italian celebrated his first ATP Tour win since 4 January on Wednesday by showing off his new tattoo to the crowd at the hard-court ATP 250 in Florida. Cobolli, who overcame Terence Atmane 7-5, 6-4, was quick to attribute his victory to the distinctive green character now inked into his right leg: The Hulk.
"In Davis Cup [last year], you remember I [ripped] my t-shirt, so now I have Hulk,” said the No. 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings Cobolli in his on-court interview. “It’s fresh, like two weeks old. I felt like Hulk on the court [then], so now I have to be like him!”
"I feel like Hulk on the court now" 🤣💪🦸♂️
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 18, 2026
Italian superhero @cobollifla has a new tattoo to share...#DBOpen | 📍Delray Beach pic.twitter.com/mCCda4gmim
Cobolli’s shirt-shredding celebration that inspired the tattoo came after he saved seven match points and won a 32-point deciding-set tie-break to overcome Zizou Bergs and seal Italy a spot in November’s Davis Cup Final, which the European country subsequently won. He showcased that sort of on-court grit again against Atmane on Wednesday by bouncing back from four consecutive defeats to set a quarter-final meeting with Coleman Wong, who defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 7-6(4).
“It’s my first win [for a while], so I’m really happy to be in the middle of the court,” said Cobolli after levelling his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Atmane at 1-1. “It was tough, the beginning of the year, but now I’m really happy to be here at this fantastic tournament.
“It was a different result [to last time]. I lost to him last time with a great battle in Cincinnati. I practised well this week and felt comfortable staying on the court for a long time. I’m really happy how I managed this first round against a tough opponent like Terence.”
