Matteo Arnaldi Drops Out of French Open Semifinal After Coming Down with Virus: 'No Way I Would Be Able to Play'
Article excerpt
Matteo Arnaldi withdrew from his French Open semifinal after contracting a virus, ending his unexpected run at Roland Garros. The 25-year-old Italian told reporters he was running a fever and couldn't move, eat, or drink. "No way I would be able to play," Arnaldi said at a press conference, describing physical symptoms too severe to compete. His withdrawal eliminates one semifinal matchup and advances his opponent to the final.
Matteo Arnaldi of Italy in action against Matteo Berrettini of Italy during their Men's Singles quarter-final match. Credit: Franco Arland/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
Matteo Arnaldi of Italy has withdrawn from his first Grand Slam semifinal due to illness just 20 minutes before the match
"I had a fever. I just know that I can't move, and I can't eat, and I can't drink," Arnaldi, 25, explained at a press conference
With Arnaldi's exit, Flavio Cobolli advances to the French Open final
Matteo Arnaldi will not compete in the French Open semifinal after a bout of illness, the Italian tennis player announced.
Arnaldi, 25, made the announcement on Friday, June 5, just about 20 minutes before he was set to take on No. 10 seed and fellow Italian player Flavio Cobolli at Roland-Garros.
"I think it's a virus because I was feeling pretty cold," he said at a press conference also attended by Cobolli, per The Associated Press. "I had a fever. I just know that I can't move, and I can't eat, and I can't drink."
Arnaldi said he felt fine during practice on Thursday until he ate dinner. He then went back to his hotel but woke up sick and began vomiting around 1 a.m., he said.
"There was no way I would be able to play. I feel sorry for all the fans," he added, per The Athletic.
Italy's Matteo Arnaldi gives a press conference following his forfeit ahead of his men's semi final singles match against Italy's Flavio Cobolli on day 13 of the French Open. Credit: JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP via Getty
Cobolli automatically gains a spot in Sunday’s final against second-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany, who defeated Jakub Menšík of the Czech Republic earlier on Friday.
"When he came to me almost one hour ago I almost cried," Caboli said at the press conference after his opponent's announcement. "It's something you don't expect at all. I was completely sad for him."
Arnaldi reached the semifinals after Matteo Berrettini, also of Italy, retired in their quarterfinal due to a hip injury during the second set.
"It's tough, because for how the tournament was, for how many hours I spent on court, I was feeling actually very good," Arnaldi said, referring to his record time of 19 hours, 42 minutes on court, per the AP.
"To have to withdraw from the first slam semifinal is not something that you wish to anybody. I tried to get ready and tried to stay as much as I could here and tried to see if I could go on court, but every time I get up, I feel dizzy, and I don't feel like the best," he added. "I'm pretty sure if I eat again, I'm not going to feel, like, good. That was the right decision for me to take."
This marks the first time that a player has pulled out of a Grand Slam since 2022. That year, Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Wimbledon semifinal against Australia's Nick Kyrgios, who later lost to Novak Djokovic.
This year's French Open has brought a number of shocking moments, including top seeds Djokovic, 39, and Jannik Sinner of Italy losing out in major upsets.
Djokovic lost to João Fonseca, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 7-5, 7-5 in the third-round match.
With the win, Fonseca, 19, became the first teenager to ever beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam event and the second player to ever come back from being two sets down to beat the Serbian tennis legend, according to Reuters.
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In one of the biggest shocks of the tournament, Sinner, 24, lost in five sets to Argentine Juan Manuel Cerúndolo in the second round, ending a 30-match winning streak and resulting in his earliest Grand Slam exit in three years. He served for the victory, up 6-3, 6-2, 5-1, but began to suffer cramps, which caused him to win only two more games for the rest of the match.
"It was warm but not crazy warm. I feel like it was quite okay to play. Really it was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens," the four-time major champion said after the match.
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