Incredible comeback: Arnaldi beats Tiafoe in five sets and over five hours to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland-Garros
The Italian won in five sets (7-6, 6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4) after being down 4-1 with a double break in the fourth set. He will face his fellow countryman Matteo Berrettini in the quarterfinals.
Matteo Arnaldi – Roland-Garros 2026 © Psnewz
Italy will not be playing in the upcoming football World Cup, which starts in 10 days. However, the country can count on three of its players in the Roland-Garros quarterfinals (without Jannik Sinner).
After Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Berrettini, it was Matteo Arnaldi’s turn to reach the quarterfinals in Paris. He was down 4-1 with a double break in the fourth set before turning the match around against Frances Tiafoe in a huge fight lasting 5 hours 26 minutes (7-6, 6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4). This is his second match in a row lasting over five hours, following his win against Raphaël Collignon in the previous round.
Arnaldi, ranked No 104, will face Italian Matteo Berrettini next for his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Ahead of his victory, the Italian beat Belgian Raphael Collignon (6-4, 6-7 (5), 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4)), Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-3, 6-2) and Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, the No 29 seed (6-7 (9), 6-3, 7-6 (6), 6-3).
Tiafoe, ranked No 22, defeated Portuguese Jaime Faria (4-6, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-2), Pole Hubert Hurkacz (6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-4) and Eliot Spizzirri (6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3) earlier in the tournament.
