No Sinner, no problem: The three Italians through to French Open quarter-finals

Even after Jannik Sinner ’s shock exit blew the French Open draw apart, Italian men have still made history at Roland Garros. For the first time in the Open Era, three Italian men are into the quarter-finals of a grand slam, with Flavio Cobolli, Matteo Berrettini and Matteo Arnaldi showcasing the strength and depth of the country’s tennis talent by advancing to the last eight.

There is guaranteed to be at least one Italian semi-finalist, with Berrettini to face Arnaldi in the quarter-finals on Wednesday while Cobolli, the 10th seed, faces fourth seed Felix Auger Aliassime for a place in the final four. Auger Aliassime is the highest remaining seed in the top half of the draw that has been wide open since Sinner’s shock second-round exit.

Berrettini, the former Wimbledon runner-up, is back in the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time since 2022. A former top-10 player whose career was derailed by injuries, the 30-year-old is making his first appearance at the French Open in five years, having been forced to withdraw from the last four editions due to injury.

Now ranked 105th in the world, Berrettini is the lowest-ranked men’s French Open quarter-finalist since 2007. In the fourth round, he recorded a straight-sets win over Jaun Manuel Cerundolo, who knocked out Sinner from two sets down as the world No 1 and tournament favourite struggled with the heat and fatigue. It was an emotional victory for Berrettini.

“[Tennis] is the love of my life, if it wasn't I wouldn't be here,” he said. “After all the setbacks, all the injuries, all the bad moments, I came back once again. There were moments where it was really tough to come back and play, because I wasn't ready and I wasn't sure about my confidence, now I feel great.”

Arnaldi, 25, recorded an epic fightback to beat American seed Frances Tiafoe in five sets, 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (5-7) 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4, and reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time. Ranked one place above Berrettini at 104th in the world, Arnaldi has spent 17 hours and 42 minutes on court in his four victories so far at Roland Garros, five hours and 25 minutes of which were against Tiafoe in a match that finished after midnight.

He won one of the points of the tournament to set up match point, scrambling to return several smashes from Tiafoe before the 19th eventually found the net.

Cobolli, 24, has enjoyed a far smoother path to the quarter-finals, his second appearance in a grand slam last eight after pushing Novak Djokovic to four sets at Wimbledon last year. The 10th seed has dropped just one set so far in his four wins, which came against Zachary Svajda in the fourth round. He is a two-time title winner on clay, and reached the Munich final this season.