Despite world No.1 Jannik Sinner’s second-round exit, the Italian charge in the men’s draw at the French Open continues, with three players into the quarter-finals. Matteo Arnaldi beat Frances Tiafoe in five sets to join Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Berrettini in the last eight at Roland Garros. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Arnaldi stunned after reaching French Open quarters Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow Arnaldi clawed his way back from the brink, outlasting American Tiafoe 7-6(5) 6-7(5) 3-6 7-6(3) 6-4 in
a delirious late-night epic on court Suzanne-Lenglen. With the crowd crackling under the Paris floodlights, the world No.104 stared elimination in the face when he trailed 4-1 in the fourth set, only to summon one final surge and prevail on his third match point after five hours and 26 minutes of ferocious shot-making and lung-busting rallies. “It’s a dream to be here. Today in the third set I was so tired,” said Arnaldi, the marathon man of this year’s tournament after already needing more than
five hours to win his third-round match. “We live to play these matches, I always wanted to play like this at night at Roland Garros. “It was not tennis, just something else, with everything we had. Someone had to win. Fortunately, it was me tonight.” Arnaldi has now spent 17 hours and 42 minutes on court in Paris — the most by any player reaching the quarter-finals of a grand slam since the ATP Tour began recording match times in 1991. The Italian produced moments
of almost absurd defence to blunt the power of 19th seed Tiafoe, scrambling from corner to corner and somehow turning defence into attack in a match that repeatedly pushed both men beyond exhaustion. Tiafoe eventually cracked, dumping a backhand into the net. Arnaldi will next face compatriot Berrettini for a place in the semi-finals after Berrettini beat Sinner’s conqueror, Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina, 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (8-6). Berrettini has missed the previous four editions because of injuries and arrived in Paris ranked 105
in the world. He is thus the lowest-ranked men’s quarter-finalist at Roland Garros since 2007 but his ranking belies the ability of the former Wimbledon finalist who has been as high as sixth. Tenth-seed Cobolli dropped his first set of the tournament but beat unseeded American Zachary Svajda en route to a 6-2 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) win. Also into the quarter-finals is fourth-seed Felix Auger-Aliassime who beat Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 6-3 7-5 6-1 and now plays Cobolli. Auger-Aliassime eased through the opening set
before Toronto-born Tabilo stepped up his game. The pair then went toe-to-toe until Tabilo dropped his serve in the 11th game, enabling Auger-Aliassime to take a two-set lead. He then ran away with the third.
Matteo Arnaldi, Frances Tiafoe, Roland Garros, French Open quarter-finals, Suzanne-Lenglen, Flavio Cobolli, Matteo Berrettini, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alejandro Tabilo, Jannik Sinner
Five sets?! That’s like half a season in one match. I still don’t get how anyone’s legs work after that.
Sinner losing already and then this Italian guy saves the day… tennis is wild. Why are they always playing at night in France like it’s a festival? Also didn’t know Tiafoe could lose after being up like that.
I think this was rigged lowkey, like the crowd got too hype and the momentum just flipped. It says Arnaldi was down 4-1 in the fourth so obviously he just needed a coach wakeup speech or whatever. Plus 5 hours 26 minutes??? My phone would’ve died by set 2.
Arnaldi clawed his way back from the brink like he was in a boxing match, not tennis. I only read the headline so I’m assuming this means American players are cursed at Roland Garros now. But if Tiafoe was the 19th seed then how did he even make it that far in the first place? Either way, good for Italy I guess.