Tennis star withdraws MINUTES before French Open semi-final after vomiting all night with violent sickness bug

Matteo Arnaldi dramatically pulled out of his first Grand Slam semi-final just 25 minutes before taking to the court after coming down with a violent sickness bug.

The Italian was supposed to face compatriot Flavio Cobolli to find out who would play Alexander Zverev in the French Open final but was forced to withdraw after being up all night vomiting.

‘I can’t move, I can’t eat and I can’t drink,’ said Arnaldi. ‘There is no way that I would be able to play.’

Unseeded Arnaldi, ranked outside the top 100, played nearly 20 hours of tennis in his gruelling, unexpected run to the last four.

‘It is not what I wanted to do,’ added Arnaldi. ‘Last night I started to feel not very well. I was feeling fine all yesterday. I had dinner and felt so-so with my stomach, and it didn’t digest very well.

‘I started vomiting at 1am. I tried to sleep but couldn’t sleep at all. At 6 or 7am, I vomited again and it was pretty bad. We called the doctor who gave me some stuff. I was hoping it would just be something from dinner but I couldn’t eat, whenever I ate or drink, I would go back to the bathroom.

‘It is tough. For how the tournament was, for the many hours I spent on court, I was actually feeling very good and to have to withdraw from your first Grand Slam semi is not something to wish on anyone.

‘I tried as much as I could but every time I get up, I feel dizzy and don’t feel the best. If I dont eat again I won’t feel good. It was the right decision for me to take.’

‘I think it is a virus because I was feeling pretty cold, I had a fever during the day. I just know that I can’t move, I can’t eat and I can’t drink. There is no way that I would be able to play. I feel sorry for everyone that got a ticket.’

It’s just the third time in the Open era that a Grand Slam men’s singles semi-final has been won through a walkover after Richard Krajicek pulled out in the Australian Open 1992 before facing Jim Courier and Rafael Nadal did the same the night before facing Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon four years ago.

Spectators were still piling on to court on Philippe Chatrier after the announcement was made only to see signs on the big screens that the match had been cancelled. Those that remained were treated to Cobolli’s practice session.

Cobolli and Arnaldi are great friends, David Cup team-mates, and first played each other at the age of 10.

‘It is also tough for me to speak now,’ said Cobolli in a joint-press conference just 10 minutes after the announcement was made.

‘When he came to me about an hour ago, I almost cried. You don’t expect it at all. I was ready to play this match and when he came to me I was completely sad for him but, at the same time, I am really happy for the result this week. He is an inspiration to all of us.’

It came after Zverev was booed by the Philippe Chatrier crowd as he booked his place in the final to move one match away from a maiden Grand Slam.

The German frustrated spectators by constantly challenging line judge calls, even when he was just two games from victory against Jakub Mensik.

Jeers rang out as Zverev once again demanded umpire James Keothavong came down to inspect a ball mark, leading the official to shrug as if to ask why he’d bothered getting off his chair.

Second seed Zverev wrapped up a 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Mensik to reach the fourth Grand Slam final of his career, having lost all of his previous three including to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros two years ago.

Fourth seed Cobolli has already beaten Zverev this year, defeating him in straight sets on clay in Munich in April.

‘It’s not the way that you want a semi-final of a Grand Slam to happen, but I also saw Matteo in the locker room, and he looked awful,’ said Zverev of Arnaldi’s withdrawal. ‘I understand it. There’s nothing much he can do.

‘Things like that happen. We’re all human. We don’t wish for them to happen, but they do. I don’t think that it’s going to be a big difference on Sunday.’