Matteo Arnaldi dramatically pulled out of his first Grand Slam semi-final just 25 minutes before taking to the court after coming down with a violent sickness bug.
The Italian was supposed to face compatriot Flavio Cobolli on Philippe Chatrier to find out who would face Alexander Zverev in the French Open final but was up vomiting through the night with a virus.
‘Where to start? It is difficult to be here,’ said the Italian, who gave a press conference alongside Cobolli after withdrawing.
‘It is not what I wanted to do. Last night I started to feel not very well. I was feeling fine all yesterday, I had dinner and felt so-so with my stomach, and it didn’t digest very well.
‘I started vomiting at 1am. I tried to sleep but couldn’t sleep at all. At 6 or 7am, I vomited again and it was pretty bad. We called the doctor who gave me some stuff. I was hoping it would just be something from dinner but I couldn’t eat, whenever I ate or drink, I would go back to the bathroom.
‘It is tough. For how the tournament was, for the many hours I spent on court, I was actually feeling very good and to have to withdraw from your first Grand Slam semi is not something to wish on anyone.
Matteo Arnaldi dramatically pulled out of his first Grand Slam semi-final with a sickness bug
‘I tried as much as I could but every time I get up, I feel dizzy and don’t feel the best. If I don’t eat again I won’t feel good. It was the right decision for me to take.’
‘I think it is a virus because I was feeling pretty cold, I had a fever during the day. I just know that I can’t move, I can’t eat and I can’t drink. There is no way that I would be able to play. I feel sorry for everyone that got a ticket.’
Spectators were still piling on to court on Philippe Chatrier after the announcement was made only to see signs on the big screens that the match had been cancelled.
It came after Alexander Zverev was booed by the Philippe Chatrier crowd as he booked his place in the French Open final to move one match away from a maiden Grand Slam.
The German frustrated spectators by constantly challenging line judge calls, even when he was just two games from victory against Jakub Mensik.
Jeers rang out as Zverev once again demanded umpire James Keothavong came down to inspect a ball mark, leading the official to shrug as if to ask why he’d bothered getting off his chair.
Second seed Zverev wrapped up a 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Mensik to reach the fourth Grand Slam final of his career, having lost all of his previous three including to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros two years ago.
