Great feat of Matteo Arnaldi at Roland Garros

Matteo Arnaldi-Andrey Rublev 7-6 6-2 6-4

Matteo Arnaldi’s great feat at Roland Garros: the Ligurian eliminated Andrey Rublev, number six in the world and in the seeding, in three sets with a score of 7-6 6-2 6-4, hitting the round of 16 in a Slam for the first time in his career.

In the first set, Arnaldi immediately had an opportunity to break his opponent’s serve: however, the Italian failed to scratch the break and suffered it in the seventh game, with Rublev going up 4-3. The Russian però does not confirm the lead and it thus comes down to the tie-break, won by Arnaldi for 8 points to 6, after canceling a set point to the world number six.

In the second set, after an initial exchange of breaks, it was the fifth game that made the difference: Rublev lost his serve on the advantages and went on a rampage, hurling his racket on the court. Arnaldi took advantage and strung four consecutive games, also forfeiting the second partial 6-2.

In the third set è the serve to be the master until the seventh game: Rublev concedes the first break point of the set and Arnaldi does not let himself be begged, transforming it with a winning response. Having harpooned the break, the azure retained it until the final 6-3 sealed with a winning serve.

With this success – the third against a top 10 player in his career – Arnaldi thus flies to the round of 16 of the Paris Slam where he will face the winner of the challenge between the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the ninth seed in the draw, and the Chinese Zhizhen Zhang, world number 44 and Lorenzo Sonego’s executioner in the second round.