Matteo Arnaldi Withdraws from Roland-Garros Ahead of Semifinal, Cobolli to Face Zverev in Final
The second men's semifinal match at the French Open on Friday has been canceled.
It was announced that Matteo Arnaldi was forced to withdraw from his match against No. 10 Flavio Cobolli due to a "viral illness." Cobolli will now advance to face No. 2 Alexander Zverev in the final at Roland-Garros on Sunday.
Cobolli and Arnaldi held a joint press conference following the announcement of their match being canceled.
"I had a fever too during the day. I can't move, I can't eat, I can't drink. There was no way I would be able to play. I feel sorry for all the fans," Arnaldi said after his withdrawal, per tennis reporter José Morgado.
Cobolli told reporters that he nearly started crying when Arnaldi told him that he was unable to play on Friday.
Arnaldi's road to the semifinals at Roland-Garros included wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Frances Tiafoe, the latter of which was a five-set marathon that lasted over five hours. He advanced to his first major semifinal when Matteo Berrettini was forced to retire from their quarterfinal match due to injury.
Cobolli had never advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam singles tournament before this year's French Open. His first career major final won't be easy, as he will be facing a motivated Zverev who is looking to secure his first career Grand Slam singles title after finishing as a runner-up in three different tournaments.
