Matteo Berrettini abandons French Open quarter-final with hip injury
Matteo Berrettini has seen his French Open campaign end in heartbreak after a hip injury forced the Italian to retire during his quarter-final against compatriot Matteo Arnaldi.
The former world number six was trailing 5-2 in the second set, having already dropped the opener, when he called a premature halt to the contest.
He had previously taken a medical timeout but pulled up sharply while chasing down a ball in the final game of the match.
A disconsolate look washed over the 2021 Wimbledon finalist as he sat in his chair before embracing his opponent at the net.
A career plagued by physical setbacks
Physical issues have relentlessly disrupted the career of the powerful right-hander since his memorable run to the grass-court final at SW19.
He had missed the previous four editions of Roland Garros entirely because of persistent injury woes.
This latest setback follows earlier tournament withdrawals, including a mid-match retirement at the 2023 US Open and pull-outs in Madrid and Rome last season.
“It was really hard to retire because I thought that wasn’t the right thing, mostly because I have done it many times and I’m tired of retiring,” said Berrettini.
“I didn’t want the tournament to end like this.”
Arnaldi makes historic semi-final run
Despite the devastating conclusion, the currently 105th-ranked player remained determined to focus on the positives of reaching a seventh Grand Slam quarter-final.
“I have to take the good stuff that I did in this tournament, because a few weeks ago or a few days ago, it would have been crazy to think about me in the quarter-finals, and so I’ll try to go back home with a smile on my face.”
His advancement means Arnaldi, currently ranked 104th in the world, becomes the lowest-ranked male player to reach the singles semi-finals in Paris since Filip Dewulf in 1997.
The 25-year-old will now face 10th seed Flavio Cobolli on Friday for a coveted place in Sunday’s showpiece final.
“He did an amazing tournament. I am sorry for him and I hope he recovers because soon it is the grass and he is going to be very tough to play.”