Arnaldi Advances To Roland-Garros Semifinals Following Berrettini Retirement

Matteo Arnaldi
Matteo Arnaldi (photo: Giuseppe Antonelli/FITP)

PARIS/WASHINGTON, June 4, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

When Matteo Arnaldi faced Matteo Berrettini for the first time at the French Open Wednesday evening, at stake in this quarterfinal “Battle of the Matteos” was a berth in the semifinal round of the clay-court major.

It marked the second all-Italian men’s quarterfinal in history after Jannik Sinner defeated Lorenzo Musetti at the US Open last year and the first time that two men ranked outside the Top 100 – Arnaldi is ranked No. 104 and Berrettini No. 105 – had met in a Grand Slam quarterfinal since 1991 at the Australian Open, when No. 114 Patrick McEnroe defeated No. 101 Cristiano Caratti.

Ironically, McEnroe was in the broadcast booth for TNT Sports with his older brother, Hall of Famer John McEnroe, commenting on the Arnaldi-Berrettini match for a mostly-North American audience.

The winner in the “Battle of the Matteos” would become the fifth lowest-ranked semifinalist at Roland-Garros in PIF ATP Rankings history.

Unfortunately, the Arnaldi-Berrettini last-eight match, which took place on Court Philippe-Chatrier with the roof closed, was cut short. After two hours, and with Arnaldi ahead, 7-5, 5-2, Berrettini was forced to retire due to a left hip injury. Berrettini initially felt hip pain during the middle of the first set. He took an off-court medical time out at 1-2 in the second set. Despite his attempt to continue, Berrettini signaled the end of the quarterfinal four games later after the seventh-game changeover had ended.

The Roman Berrettini, 30, and Arnaldi, 25, from Sanremo, who have been Italian Davis Cup teammates, shared a warm embrace at the conclusion, and it was obvious there was disappointment in how the match ended. 

Arnaldi finished with 16 winners to 16 unforced errors, compared to 26 winners and 37 unforced errors by Berrettini. He converted five of 15 break-point chances, while Berrettini was three-for-three in break-point opportunities. Arnaldi outpointed his opponent 78-65.

“It’s a tough one,” Arnaldi said during his on-court interview. “We both played a lot, so it’s normal to not be at our best, but you never wish someone to end their tournament like this. He did an amazing tournament. We are all doing such a good job in Italy. I’m sorry for him and I hope he’s going to recover, because soon is going to be the grass and he is going to be very tough to play.”

Coming into the quarterfinal round, Arnaldi had logged 17 hours and 42 minutes on court through his first four matches – most of any player in the main draw – including five hours and 26 minutes during his five-set fourth-round victory over No. 19 seed Frances Tiafoe that ended early Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Berrettini had been on court for 13 hours and 11 minutes, which was third-most. His five-set third-round victory over 102nd-ranked Francisco Comesana of Argentina lasted five hours and 13 minutes, which included a 28-point match tie-break to determine the outcome.

“I’m tired, that’s for sure,” Arnaldi said. “But I train and I play tennis to play these kinds of tournaments and these kinds of matches. So, I’m trying to give it all that I’ve got. Obviously, today I was a little bit more tired than usual. I wasn’t as fast as I think I was in the first match, but I’m here and I’m enjoying my tennis again. I was injured until not long ago so I’m just happy to be here and trying to give all I have.”

During his post-match news conference, Berrettini spoke about his mindset in having to retire during the second set. “In the middle of the first set, I started to feel something when I was serving, but, you know, I was competing. Naturally, it was very tough. I just didn’t really think much of it. I just kept going and tried to do my best,” he said.

“It was a really tough task today. Then, the more that I was playing, the more I was serving. And the more I was hitting points, the worse I was feeling.

“I took the medical time out and they told me the area was really sore and painful. So, I just tried [to play on] but the pain was too much. I hope I didn’t do any serious damage.

“I’ll just have to wait and see the next day for the scan to see what it is. Hopefully, it’s nothing too bad. Obviously, I’m disappointed, but I think if I kept playing, I would have [hurt myself] way worse and recovery time would be much longer. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any choice but to retire.”

Now, Arnaldi is through to face another Italian Davis Cup teammate, World No. 14 and 10th seed Flavio Cobolli, 24, who earlier in the day defeated World No. 6 and fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. It will be the first Grand Slam semifinal for both competitors. Arnaldi will bring a 6-6 tour-level win-loss record, including 6-3 on clay, into the semifinal against the Florentine Cobolli, who is 23-12 overall (14-5 on clay).

The Arnaldi-Cobolli match-up on Friday marks an all-Italian Grand Slam semifinal for the first time, and it’s the third time in French tennis history that two Italians have reached the semifinals, joining Nicola Pietrangeli and Orlando Sirola in 1960 at the French Championships, and Sinner and Musetti at Roland-Garros last year. 

The all-Italian semifinal ensures that an Italian – either Arnaldi or Cobolli – will play for the title on Sunday. The last Italian man to win the French Open was Adriano Panatta in 1976 – 50 years ago. Panatta is expected to attend Sunday’s final and present the Coupe des Mousquetaires to the champion.

 

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Arnaldi’s remarkable run to the Roland-Garros semifinals has included victories over No. 29 seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, Raphael Collignon of Belgium, Tiafoe and Berrettini. The triumphs over Collignon and Tiafoe both went the distance. Arnaldi’s PIF ATP Live Ranking has risen to No. 34. He’s 12-1 on clay in all competitions since losing in qualifying at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid in April. It includes a championship run at Cagliari on the ATP Challenger Tour circuit, followed a third-round finish in Rome. Now, he’s 5-0 in Paris.

“Unbelievable, to be honest. I still can’t believe it,” Arnaldi said. “If I think where I was a month ago, I was almost No. 150 in the world. Then I played the Challenger in Cagliari and from there I started to feel better and train again like I wanted. Now I’m here. It’s crazy to think, but I always liked this tournament and I always play well. Two years ago, I made the fourth round, so I love to play in front of this crowd.”

Wednesday’s Roland-Garros results

Thursday’s Roland-Garros order of play

By the numbers

There have been seven different Italian men who have advanced to the Roland-Garros semifinals in the Open Era: Adriano Panatta (1973, 1975-76), Corrado Barazzutti (1978), Marco Cecchinato (2018), Jannik Sinner (2024-25), Lorenzo Musetti (2025), Flavio Cobolli (2026) and Matteo Arnaldi (2026).

“Quotable …”

“I don’t know [if we will go for dinner on Thursday], but we are going to spend a lot of time together. It’s normal for us. We always try to train together and stay together around the tennis. It’s going to be a fun one. We played last year, and he won in four. But we played many times before. Hopefully it’s going to be a good match and a good fight.”

– Matteo Arnaldi of Italy, during his on-court interview after advancing to his first Grand Slam semifinal, where he will face fellow Italian Flavio Cobolli.

 

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