Andre Agassi stunned by Mattea Arnaldi’s French Open withdrawal Credit: TNT Sports
By Brandon Contes on

Matteo Arnaldi withdrew from his French Open semifinal on Friday, and Andre Agassi had trouble relating to the decision.

Arnaldi stunned the tennis world as the 25-year-old world No. 104 withdrew from playing close friend Flavio Cobolli in the French Open because of a virus. The announcement came just 25 minutes before both players were due to walk out on the court in Paris. And when the news broke during TNT’s coverage of Roland-Garros, Agassi immediately appeared distraught with his head in his hands.

Host Adam Lefkoe quickly threw the broadcast to a commercial before getting any live reaction to the withdrawal, but coming out of the break, Agassi still made his disappointment clear.

“I could have beat Arnaldi today, at 56 years old. If you don’t show up, you can’t win,” Agassi said. “It’s just disappointing. This tournament has been full of so many surprises, this is not the kind of surprise that anybody wants to see. He had two sets last match, physically he would have had a chance to be at his best. But obviously, he’s dealing with something that better be unimaginable.”

Shortly after, Arnaldi issued an official statement about his withdrawal at a press conference at Roland-Garros, noting how difficult it was for him not to compete.

“It’s difficult to be here. It’s not what I wanted to do,” Arnaldi admitted before explaining his symptoms. “Last night I started to feel not very well. Yesterday I was feeling okay. I came to practice and did everything I had to do. I was feeling fine, and then I had dinner. I started to feel so-so with my stomach. I was like Alright, just didn’t digest very well.’ But then I woke up at 1 a.m. and started vomiting.”

Arnaldi said he was unable to sleep and continued vomiting throughout the night, eventually calling a doctor to the room.

“He came and gave me some stuff. I was hoping it could just be something from dinner or something like that. But then throughout the day, I couldn’t eat,” Arnaldi said. “It’s tough. For how the tournament was, for how many hours I spent on court, I was actually feeling very good. To have to withdraw from my first Slam semifinal is not something you wish for anybody. 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 got up I feel dizzy and I don’t feel the best. I’m pretty sure if I eat again, I’m not going to feel good. So, that was the right decision for me to take.”

As disappointing as it was for Agassi to see Arnaldi withdraw from his semifinal match, it had to be even harder for the 25-year-old to make that decision. Obviously, Arnaldi would have been on the court if he were able to attempt playing. But this virus must have knocked him out, making it impossible to stay hydrated for a professional tennis match.

About Brandon Contes

Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com

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