The Sanremo player scores 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 and is eliminated in the round of 16. From Monday’s best ranking he will be number 47 while Carlos waits for the winner between Sinner and Zverev
Arnaldi, it’s time to come back. Too strong Carlos Alcaraz, two years younger and already defending champion of this US Open where he lost only one set in one week. The Sanremo player has to bow to the overwhelming power of the Spaniard, who respects the forecast and conquers the quarter-finals with a score of 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Matteo nevertheless returns home with the best finish of No. 47, which opens the door to the Masters 1000 and with the awareness of earning important stages by continuing to work, grow and learn from the greats. The lesson against the best of the moment can only come in handy for a player like him who loves to take notes and learn from every experience. This has been the Sanremo player’s success over the past few months, steadily growing and showing an important personality. And it wasn’t obvious. The comparison to the phenomenon had been buzzing around in his mind since he saw the scoreboard, he admitted it after beating world No. 16 Cameron Norrie 3-0 and he savored the prize by trying to up to keep up to the end.
THE MATCH
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You play with the roof closed, although it’s not raining and the weather doesn’t predict rain. Alcaraz arrives with a bandage on his left thigh but that doesn’t seem to cause him much trouble. Arnaldi stays level until Game 6, then a winning response from Alcaraz and a forehand error in the open field put the Spaniard at 0:30. There are three breakpoints. The first Arnaldi clears with an ace, then a winning serve to make it 30-40. Finally, the tape puts the ball on Alcaraz’s forehand, which leads to the break: 4:2. From then on, the champions from Murcia never gave up their advantage and ended up 6:3. The Sanremo player returns to the field a bit dejected and suffers the break immediately in the second set as well, then, in the eighth game, something moves: two errors and Arnaldi makes 15-30 with the Spanish serve. A greedy forehand brings the situation back to 30:30, another forehand mistake and Alcaraz has the ball to 5:3. This time it’s the Spaniard who makes a mistake and takes the lead, but the Italian doesn’t advance: 5-3. In the ninth game, the Blues destroy two set balls, but give up again at the final score of 6:3. The third part starts at full speed, with Arnaldi having a break lead but not being able to hold the lead until the end. More relaxed, the Petrone student shows his best, but the other climbs back up and completes the transition to the quarter-finals with 5:4 with the break.
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