Cobolli

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.”

Flavio Cobolli is through to the French Open final after fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi withdrew minutes before their semi-final with a virus.

The good friends were supposed to meet in the last four at 18:00 BST on Friday for a place in a first Grand Slam final.

However, Arnaldi’s withdrawal was announced just 20 minutes before the players were due to step on Court Philippe Chatrier.

It puts world number 14 Cobolli straight through to Sunday’s Roland Garros showpiece, where he will face second seed and title favourite Alexander Zverev.

Arnaldi had spent 19 hours and 42 minutes on court en route to the semi-finals in Paris – the longest anyone has played on their way to the last four of a major since 1991.

Having revealed several superstitions in his on-court interview – thanking the crowd in French, maintaining the same racquet tension no matter the conditions and keeping the same post-match routine – Cobolli was asked about them in his press conference.

“I’m a little bit [superstitious] but not crazy – this week I’m a little bit more crazy than the others,” he said. “I just go to the same restaurant, the same menu, the same shower.”

Cobolli then recalled a moment at a previous French Open when he was using the shower and Nadal knocked on the door asking him to hurry up because he was waiting to use that particular cubicle.

“He told me that it was his shower since 14 years,” continued Cobolli. “So I think the best thing that I’m doing is the shower.”

Cobolli recovered from losing the first set to beat Auger-Aliassime 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 and he will make his top-10 debut on Monday if Jakub Mensik, who faces Alexander Zverev in the other semi-final, fails to win the title in Paris.

Arnaldi’s win in Wednesday’s night session means an Italian finalist is guaranteed, even after the shock second-round exit of overwhelming favourite Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti being ruled out of the tournament because of injury.