Matteo Arnaldi reached the French Open semifinals after Matteo Berrettini retired while trailing 7-5, 5-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier. The ATP quarterfinal on red clay finished as a retirement after a long first set and a brisker second set, with no tiebreaks played. Across the two sets, Arnaldi won the big return exchanges and kept his error count low. Berrettini flashed power with 26 winners and 4 aces, but 39 unforced errors pulled him back.

Score, setting and result

This all-Italian quarterfinal played out on Court Philippe Chatrier with Arnaldi taking the opening set 7-5, then leading 5-2 in the second when Berrettini stopped. The first set lasted 76 minutes, the second 45, for a total of 121 minutes on court. Arnaldi broke serve three times in set one and twice more in set two, converting five break points overall. Berrettini broke back three times, two in the opener and one in the second, to keep things tense early.

Service holds were at a premium, which fits a clay-court quarterfinal under pressure. Berrettini won 4 service games from 9, while Arnaldi held 7 of 10. With the scoreboard at 7-5, 5-2 to Arnaldi, the match ended with an official status of Retired. According to the event profile, Berrettini came in with a current ranking of 47 and Arnaldi at 53, and the lower-ranked player by that metric moved on. No tiebreaks featured, and the decisive stretches arrived on return rather than serve.

Stat check: return pressure vs raw power

The totals underline the pattern. Arnaldi won 78 points to Berrettini’s 65 and took 43 points on return, double his opponent’s 21. Berrettini actually led in service points won 44 to 35, but Arnaldi’s returning tilted the match in key games. On break points, Arnaldi converted 5 while Berrettini converted 3; Berrettini saved 10 of 15 break chances faced, while Arnaldi saved none of the 3 he faced.

Unforced errors drew a sharp contrast. Berrettini finished with 39 unforced errors, including 35 on the forehand, compared to Arnaldi’s 16 total. That outweighed Berrettini’s higher winner count, which landed at 26 overall with 19 forehand winners. Arnaldi hit 16 winners, split evenly across wings with 7 backhand and 7 forehand, and added touches at net and with a lob and a drop shot. On second-serve points won, Arnaldi held a strong 12/20 (60%) compared to Berrettini’s 10/30 (33%), a key clay statistic.

Serve numbers added nuance. Berrettini landed 66% first serves to Arnaldi’s 64% and struck 4 aces to 1, with only 1 double fault to Arnaldi’s 3. On first-serve points, Arnaldi edged the efficiency 23/36 (64%) to 34/57 (60%) for Berrettini. Still, the deciding margin came on return and in error management rather than raw serving power. Sofasscore’s match page tracked all these splits live, and fans could follow the momentum in real time.

Set-by-set momentum shifts

Set one swung on timely returns. Arnaldi won it 7-5, breaking three times and taking 34 points as a receiver to Berrettini’s 13. Berrettini’s first-serve points were solid at 28/43 (65%), but he managed just 7/26 (27%) on second-serve points in that set. Arnaldi handled his second serve at 5/10 (50%) and kept his error count manageable to close the opener.

In the second set, the return edge persisted. Arnaldi won 16 service points and 9 as a receiver, while Berrettini managed 9 and 8 in those categories. Break conversion read 2 for Arnaldi and 1 for Berrettini in the set, pushing the score to 5-2. Arnaldi continued to win a greater share behind his second delivery, posting 7/10 (70%) across the match, while Berrettini improved to 3/4 (75%) in the set but could not turn that into enough holds. The longest run in the match reached seven straight points for Berrettini and six for Arnaldi, yet the Italian in blue and green colors turned more of his smaller runs into games.

The run-of-play summary is simple. Arnaldi’s return game on red clay and his cleaner error sheet outweighed Berrettini’s power flashes. With a 7-5, 5-2 lead, Arnaldi advanced after the retirement was confirmed. No frills, no tiebreaks, and a place in the last four secured in Paris.

Fans can dig into every stat and rally trend on Sofascore, including live score, point-by-point insights and each player’s Sofascore Rating during the match. For upcoming Roland Garros ties, the Sofascore app offers live updates, win probabilities and in-depth breakdowns you can trust.