Tenth seed Flavio Cobolli will take on German second seed Alexander Zverev in final after Matteo Arnaldi withdrawal.
Italy’s Flavio Cobolli said he was “sad and happy at the same time” after reaching his first Grand Slam final at the French Open on Friday, following the last-minute withdrawal due to illness of his last-four opponent and compatriot Matteo Arnaldi.
The 24-year-old 10th seed will meet Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final, which will produce a new major champion, after the German second seed earlier moved past Jakub Mensik in the other semi-final.
Just more than 20 minutes before Cobolli and Arnaldi were due to take to Court Philippe Chatrier, tournament organisers announced that the 104th-ranked Italian had been forced to pull out with a “virus”.
“When he came to me almost one hour ago, I almost cried. You know, it’s something that you don’t expect at all. I was ready to play this match,” Cobolli told reporters during a news conference he held with his close friend Arnaldi, as the pair sat three metres (10 feet) apart.
“When he came, I was completely sad for him. But, at the same time, of course, I’m really happy for the result that I reached this week.
“Yeah, now I’m sad and happy at the same time.”
For first-time major semifinalist Arnaldi, withdrawing was “not something that you wish to anybody”, but “the right decision for me to take”.
“It’s tough, because for how the tournament was, for how many hours I’ve been on the court, I was feeling actually very good,” Arnaldi, who had spent the most amount of time on court for a player en route to a Grand Slam semifinal, said.
The 25-year-old added that, on Thursday, he was “feeling OK” during practice, but after his dinner, he began to feel unwell during the night.
“I started to feel so-so with my stomach. I was, like, ‘All right, just didn’t digest very well,'” he recounted.
“But then I woke up at 1:00am, and I started vomiting, and I wasn’t feeling the best. Then I tried to sleep. I couldn’t sleep at all. At 6:00, 7:00am, I vomited again.
“We called the doctor into the room. He came, gave me some stuff. I was hoping that it would just be something from dinner or something like that, but then throughout the day, I couldn’t eat. Every time we did something or would drink, I would go back to the bathroom.”
Despite his best efforts, his state worsened throughout the day.
“I tried to get ready and tried to stay as much as I could here and tried to see if I could go on court, but every time I get up, I feel dizzy,” Arnaldi said.
“It’s a virus, I think, because I was feeling pretty cold. I think I had a fever, like, during the day. I don’t know, to be honest.
“I just know that I can’t move, and I can’t eat, and I can’t drink. So, there was really no way that I will be able to play.”
Cobolli paid tribute to a tearful Arnaldi.
“Matteo is a big inspiration for all of us. He’s an amazing player and amazing professional,” Cobolli said.
“He’s, I think, the best person outside the court for how his match preparation, focus, cool-down. He’s one of the best on the tour, for sure.”
After the conference, Cobolli took to centre court to have a hit watched on by a decent smattering of spectators that had come for the match but stayed to see the world number 14 keep his eye in.
After his quarterfinal victory over Canadian fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday, Cobolli will go into the weekend’s final with plenty of rest.
“Maybe having almost four days off is a lot, so you lose the rhythm,” he said.
“Now, I got practice again. I think I will be ready, for sure, for the final, but I also know that I will be fresh, for sure.
“Maybe [the extra time off] will help; maybe not. I’ll tell you after the final.”
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