Italy’s Flavio Cobolli said he felt “both sad and happy” to make his first Grand Slam final at the French Open on Friday, after compatriot Matteo Arnaldi withdrew at the last minute due to illness.
The 24-year-old, seeded 10th, will meet Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s championship match. The German second seed had earlier defeated Jakub Mensik in the other semifinal.
Just over 20 minutes before Cobolli and Arnaldi were scheduled to step onto Court Philippe Chatrier, tournament organizers announced that the world No. 104 from Italy was forced to withdraw due to a “virus”.
“When he came to me about an hour before, I almost cried. It was completely unexpected,” Cobolli told reporters during a joint press conference with his close friend Arnaldi, who sat three metres away. “I was ready to play.”
“When he arrived, I was completely sad for him. But at the same time, of course I am very happy with the result of this week. Now I am both sad and happy.”
For Arnaldi, contesting his first Grand Slam semifinal, the withdrawal “was not what anyone wanted, but it was the right decision”. Arnaldi had logged the highest total playing time en route to a Grand Slam semifinal.
The 25-year-old added that he felt fine while practising on Thursday, but after dinner he began to feel unwell throughout the night. He said: “I started to feel stomach discomfort. I thought, ‘Okay, just bad digestion.’ Then I woke up at 1 a.m. and started vomiting and did not feel well. I tried to sleep but couldn’t. At 6 or 7 a.m., I vomited again. We called the doctor to the room. He came and gave me medicine. I hoped it was just a dinner problem, but all day I could not eat. Every time I drank water, I had to go to the bathroom.”
Despite trying his best, his condition worsened. “I tried to prepare and stay here as long as possible, to see if I could go on court, but every time I stood up, I felt dizzy. It’s a virus, I think, because I felt cold. I think I had a fever. I only know I could not move, could not eat or drink. There really was no way I could play.”
Cobolli praised Arnaldi through tears: “Matteo is a huge inspiration for all of us. He is an amazing tennis player and professional. I think he is the best person off court with the way he prepares matches, focuses and recovers. He is certainly one of the best on the tour.”
After the press conference, Cobolli practised on centre court in front of a large crowd that had come to watch his match but stayed to maintain rhythm. Following his quarterfinal win over Canadian fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday, Cobolli will enter the weekend final with significant rest. He said: “Maybe almost four days off is a lot; you lose rhythm. Now I am training again. I think I will be ready for the final. Having extra rest will help, or not. I’ll tell you after the final.”
