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When Flavio Cobolli steps on court Thursday for his Mutua Madrid Open quarter-final against second seed Alexander Zverev, the Italian knows he will have more than his tennis team in his corner.

The 23-year-old’s longtime partner, Matilde Galli, has played a critical role in Cobolli’s rise on the ATP Tour.

“I knew her when I was no one,” Cobolli told ATPTour.com. “I was outside of this Tour, and I grew up completely here. I met her when I was 18, I was one-thousand-and-something in the world, and we’re still together. So I think we found something that, of course, is working.”

Cobolli first met his partner at his best friend’s birthday party — Galli was there with his best friend’s sister. That proved a pivotal moment in their lives.

Galli never misses a match Cobolli plays, he said, explaining that she will even watch him compete in the middle of the night. However, they never speak about the details of the sport.

Instead, the partners serve as supporters for one another. Cobolli is a star on the ATP Tour, and Galli is studying to become a sanitary director for a hospital.

“My best dream is watching her happy in what she does,” Cobolli said. “Your family is very important because we spend our time really well, we do many things that we normally cannot do. So my dream is to have more time with her and to see her happy in whatever she does.”

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It is important to the No. 13 player in the PIF ATP Rankings to be there for Galli the same way she is for him. The three-time ATP Tour titlist enjoys being a resource whenever she needs one.

“When she’s nervous [studying for an exam], I try to be kind to her and help make her life easier. But it’s not easy when you’re always on the Tour, and you have pressure everywhere and have another pressure at home. It’s not easy,” Cobolli said. “But I think we are doing well. We have a great relationship.”

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While some ATP players travel with their partners, Galli is often home to focus on her education. So finding a way to keep in consistent contact has proven important.

“I think we found the rhythm,” Cobolli said. “But of course, I want to see her more than I see her now and to see her more at the tournaments with me. But I think the first goal for her is to finish studying and then we’ll see after college if she can come more than she does now.”

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That does not mean Galli is never on the road. Cobolli lost four of his first five matches this season, after which he asked his girlfriend to spend some time with him on the ATP Tour. That proved helpful, because Cobolli then reached the semi-finals in Delray Beach and won the ATP 500 event in Acapulco to overcome his slump and find some of the best form of his career.

“I love her a lot, and I think she also loves me,” Cobolli said, cracking a smile. “We are very young, but we already have a great experience with ourselves and our lives to say that she’s the one that I want to have for all my life.

“It is tough because we don’t see each other a lot during the year because she’s studying and I do this life [as a tennis player]. It’s tough because you always want to see her during the year, but it’s not possible. And we always try to find a way to be together [even when we are apart].”

On the tennis court, Cobolli has his coaching team in his box to help guide him through difficult moments. Ultimately, though, it is just him and his opponent on the court. With that said, inside and outside competition, Galli is always by his side — physically, or in spirit.

“When you can count on someone that loves you a lot, that has been important for us because you have someone on your shoulder,” Cobolli said. “Hopefully we can stay together for the rest of our lives.”