The Italian Matteo Arnaldi, 104th player in the world, qualified for his first semi-final at Roland-Garros after the abandonment of his compatriot Matteo Berrettini in the second set (7-5, 5-2, ab.). This is a new blow for Berrettini, 30 years old and Wimbledon finalist in 2021, falling to 105th place in the world due to repeated injuries.
Arnaldi, 25, was playing his first quarter-final in a Grand Slam and will meet his compatriot Flavio Cobolli (14th), who defeated the number 4 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the last four earlier on Wednesday.
Trailing 3 games to 0 after ten minutes, Arnaldi put away a 4-0 ball before resuming, taking advantage of Berrettini’s irregularity to win the first set after 1 hour 20 minutes. on his opponent’s 24th direct error.
In the second set, Berrettini called a medical timeout after breaking at 1-2. The player showed his staff the upper left thigh.
Back on the court, he limped and struggled to move. He finally threw in the towel after a shutout on Arnaldi’s serve. “Due to an injury, Matteo Berrettini cannot continue the match,” said the referee.
