Matteo Arnaldi out of the Australian Open: knockout in three sets due to foot pain

Matteo Arnaldi was eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open: the 24-year-old from Sanremo, number 65 in the world, lost in three sets (6-4, 6-2, 6-3) to the Russian Andrey Rublev number 15 ATP, in just under two hours of play.

“Today went worse than expected, honestly,” Arnaldi explained at the end. “I knew I wasn’t 100%, and obviously there’s always a bit of tension in the match, but already in the second or third game I made a couple of slips and I started to feel the foot discomfort. From that moment it was a match of sufferingdifficult. I feel bad, playing like this doesn’t make sense; we did everything I was told to do but I’m still in too much pain.”

Arnaldi’s mysterious injury

The foot injury “is a problem that I have had for some time”, added the tennis player Ligurian. “In theory it’s resolved now, from all the analyzes and checks that have been done the foot is fine, but it continues to hurt, on the pitch it hurts as before.” Arnaldi stressed that the pain has become too intense: “I was living with it, I played with this annoyance for quite a while, all last year, but now it’s starting to be a bit much. In theory the problem has gone away, but it hasn’t gone away at all. What we don’t understand is the Why: First there was one microfracturenow there is nothing left.”

So even progress with the new coachJean-Marcel Bourgault Du Coudray. “Stiamo facendo un great workalthough obviously with this foot problem I can’t show it off. I think I’m playing Better from a few years ago, but if I don’t feel good on the pitch I can’t do my job game“. The objective remains complete recovery to be able to express the potential achieved with the new technical guide.

The other results of the Australian Open

In other matches, a Daniil Medvedev It took three hours to break the resistance of the excellent Jesper de Jong: 7-5, 6-2, 7-6(2) for the Russian, who will meet the Frenchman Quentin Halys in the second round. The Canadian Happy Auger-Alsonumber 7 on the scoreboard, withdrew due to a knee problem hamstring during the match against Nuno Borges, with the Portuguese ahead 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. They’re not wrong Tommy Paul (6-4 6-3 6-3 su Kovacevic), Alex de Minaur (6-2 6-2 6-3 against McDonald) e Alejandro Davidovic Fokina (6-2 6-3 6-3 a Misolic). Learner Tien the winner in the fifth set in the derby with Marcos Giron: 7-6(2) 4-6 3-6 7-6(3) 6-2, in three hours and 43 minutes of play, the score in favor of the ATP number 29. In the second round too Hamad Medjedovic, Alexander Shevchenko e Fabian Marozsanwho eliminate Mariano Navone, Elias Ymer and Arthur Rinderknech respectively.