Matteo Arnaldi scored one of the biggest wins of his career Friday at Roland Garros, where he upset sixth seed Andrey Rublev 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-4 in the third round. Responding to Rublev’s firepower with heavy hitting of his own, the Italian tallied his third Top 10 victory.
The 23-year-old remarkably saved a set point at 5/6 in the first-set tie-break before tallying three consecutive points, including a barely believable angled forehand dig to clinch the opener.
That's how you win a set in styles 😎#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/zogcoQHDUQ
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 31, 2024
Arnaldi hammered 47 winners, according to Infosys Stats, to avenge last year’s Vienna loss to Rublev and level their Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. The win takes Arnaldi up to a career-high No. 34 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, a vast improvement from 12 months ago, when he competed at the French major as the World No. 106.
“I was really nervous at the end because I was going to serve for the match for one of the biggest wins of my life,” Arnaldi said. “But I managed it really well… I was focussed on myself and doing the right thing.”
Into the fourth round at a Slam for a second time (2023 US Open), the 23-year-old next faces ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who cruised past China’s Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
Rublev, who won this year’s ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid, is the highest seed to fall this fortnight.
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