Roland Garros, Matteo Arnaldi scares Stefanos Tsitsipas but it’s not enough: the Greek comes back and goes to the quarters
Matteo Arnaldi dreams but wanes in the distance: wins Stefanos Tsitsipas
Matteo Arnaldi’s path to Roland Garros 2024 ends in the round of 16, but the 23-year-old from San Remo, back from the resounding performance that earned him the victory against Andrey Rublev, has more than a few regrets, having squandered a set lead and three chances to take a 2-0 lead, before suffering the vehement reaction of the Greek who went on to win 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2, qualifying for the quarters.
Arnaldi's start è in total continuity with the match played Friday against Rublev: Tsitsipas couldn't find the crux of the matter while the Italian (a member of the Davis Cup winning team in 2023) had confidence in his strokes and made very few mistakes, winning the first set 6-3 and climbing to 5-3 (40-15) in the second.
From there on però Tsitsipas’ comeback began, first canceling the three set points available to his opponent and then taking the set to the tie-break, winning it 7-4. Arnaldi’s light, in fact, went out at that moment: the third and fourth fraction saw Tsitsipas accelerate sharply and leave only crumbs to an Arnaldi who, faced with 12 games lost, won only 4.
Nevertheless, the satisfaction of a great journey remains for the representative of the tricolor who had started the tournament as number 35 in the world: all level opponents beaten in the previous rounds (ATP No. 38 Arthur Fils, No. 90 Alexandre Muller and No. 6 Andrey Rublev), for results that can only give confidence for the future.
