Matteo Arnaldi has punched his ticket to the French Open semifinals, though his path to the final four came to a premature end when his opponent and fellow Italian, Matteo Berrettini, was forced to retire due to injury.
Berrettini looked to be struggling early in the second set, calling for a medical timeout to address apparent hip pain. After a brief discussion with his team during a changeover, he made the difficult decision to withdraw from the match.
For Arnaldi, the road to the semifinals has been nothing short of a marathon. Having already logged nearly 18 hours on court just to reach the quarterfinals, the world number 104 spent another two hours on Philippe Chatrier before Wednesday’s match was cut short.
The victory sets up an all-Italian semifinal clash against Flavio Cobolli this Friday. With world number one Jannik Sinner already out of the tournament, this matchup guarantees that Italy will have a representative in Sunday’s final.
Reflecting on the match, Arnaldi expressed mixed emotions about advancing in such a manner.
"It's a tough one," Arnaldi said. "We’ve both played a lot, so it’s natural that we aren't at our absolute best, but you never want to see someone’s tournament end like this."
He also took a moment to praise the current state of Italian tennis. "We are doing such a great job in Italy. I hope he recovers quickly; the grass season is just around the corner, and he’s always a dangerous opponent."
Despite the grueling schedule, Arnaldi remains focused on the task ahead. "I’m tired—that’s for sure—but I play this sport for these moments and these matches. I’m just trying to give everything I’ve got. I dealt with an injury not long ago, but I’m leaving it all on the court right now."