Withdrawal due to stomach upset
Matteo Arnaldi could not play the Roland Garros semi-final. The Italian, number 104 in the ranking, withdrew on Friday before the match against his compatriot Flavio Cobolli due to fever and severe digestive discomfort.
“I think it’s a virus because I felt quite cold,” Arnaldi explained at a press conference. “I had a fever. I just know that I can’t move, I can’t eat or drink.”
The player said that he felt good during training on Thursday, but after dinner he started to feel bad. “I woke up at 1 in the morning and started vomiting. At 6 or 7 in the morning I had intense nausea again.”
Cobolli, who will now face Alexander Zverev in the final, reacted with sadness. “When he told me, I almost cried. Matteo is a great inspiration for all of us,” he said.
Arnaldi had reached the semifinals after Matteo Berrettini retired in the quarterfinals due to a hip injury. He accumulated 19 hours and 42 minutes on court, the most to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam since the ATP recorded match times (1991).
“It’s hard because I was feeling very good because of how the tournament went. Having to withdraw from the first semifinal of a Grand Slam you wouldn’t wish on anyone. I made the right decision,” he concluded.
