ATP Geneva: Matteo Arnaldi out with head held high against Novak Djokovic
Matthew Arnaldi’s adventure at the ATP 250 tournament in Geneva ends in the quarterfinals. After the splendors of Madrid, this time the Ligurian’s task proved too arduous against a sacred monster like Novak Djokovic, who closed the accounts in just over an hour and a half and two sets nevertheless played by the blue with his head held high. This was evidenced by the final score, which read 6-4, 6-4.
In the first set, after two absolutely balanced games, the third shifts the needle of the scales in Djokovic’s favor. In fact, the Serb takes the break after as many as 14 points and on the third possible attempt, while Arnaldi sells his skin dearly. There are no more jolts and no more break balls come either from one side or the other, and the number 6 on the ATP circuit closes the score on 6-4.
Arnaldi stays in the match, and he proves it 100% at the start of the second set. Here in fact he touches the high point of his night in Geneva by leaving Djokovic at 0 in the third game and then snatching his serve in the fourth. The Serb, however, reacts and reverses his fortunes even taking himself from 1-4 to 6-4 in a final in which the Italian could no longer contain him.
In the semifinals Djokovic will face the winner of the challenge between Alexei Popyrin and Cameron Norrie, while for Arnaldi there’s the regret of having surrendered to arms to a great rival who, however, had managed to defeat with a clear 6-3, 6-4 less than a month ago in Madrid.
