Day eleven at Roland Garros wasn’t exactly a classic in terms of quality as neither quarter-final really caught fire.
Flavio Cobolli and Felix Auger-Aliassime played a scrappy, momentum-shifting contest in awkward conditions under the Chatrier roof, while Matteo Berrettini’s comeback run ended in disappointing fashion when injury forced him to retire against Matteo Arnaldi.
Italy now has two men in the Roland Garros semi-finals and is guaranteed a place in Sunday’s final through an all-Italian last-four clash between Cobolli and Arnaldi.
With Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic both gone early, an opportunity suddenly appeared for a different tier of players, and Cobolli and Arnaldi have taken full advantage.
Cobolli continues to ride the best form of his career, while Arnaldi somehow keeps surviving despite spending almost 18 hours on court already in Paris.
Full recap, match stats and highlights below.
Day Eleven French Open 2026 Quarter-Final Results
| Winner | Loser | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| Matteo Arnaldi | Matteo Berrettini | 7-5 5-2 |
| Flavio Cobolli (10) | Félix Auger-Aliassime (4) | 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 |
Match Recap
Flavio Cobolli (10) def. Felix Auger-Aliassime (4) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Flavio Cobolli continued his breakout Roland Garros campaign on Wednesday, battling past Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career.
For a set and a half, it looked like Auger-Aliassime might be the man of the day as the Canadian handled the difficult windy conditions better early on, using his heavier serving and deeper ball striking to force errors from Cobolli and take the opening set.
For the second set, the roof closed, and Auger-Aliassime, whose best performances have come indoors, appeared firmly in command when he moved ahead 3-1 in the second set. But from that moment onward, the match completely flipped.
Cobolli began playing far more aggressively with his forehand, using his explosive movement and footwork to take time away from the Canadian and drag him into longer baseline exchanges.
Once Cobolli levelled the match, he looked like the more confident and composed player in the key moments, saving all seven break points he faced in the third set before taking complete control of the contest.
His forehand was again the difference-maker, repeatedly opening up the court and forcing Auger-Aliassime into rushed defensive positions.
While FAA continued to serve reasonably well, he struggled to consistently hurt Cobolli once rallies extended beyond the first few shots.
Cobolli ultimately closed out the win in four sets after more than three hours, improving to 3-0 against Auger-Aliassime and recording the first Top 10 win of his Slam career.
Strangely, the roof closing was probably a negative for Aliassime. You’d think indoors he would thrive as he’s won Rotterdam, Basel, Antwerp and Montpellier in recent years, but indoor clay isn’t quite the same, and I think he played just a bit too one-paced.
That worked well in the windy conditions as it’s all about risk management, but once Cobolli started playing more freely, Aliassime didn’t raise his level.
Was it a high-quality match? Not really, and I’d be surprised if the winner came from this half, but I made Cobolli the favourite to make the final from this half once the draw opened up, and he’s probably streaky enough to win it given the level of competition in front of him.
Match Stats
| Key Stats | Felix Auger-Aliassime | Flavio Cobolli |
|---|---|---|
| Winners | 40 | 33 |
| Unforced Errors | 47 | 46 |
| Aces | 7 | 8 |
| Double Faults | 4 | 2 |
| 1st Serve % | 74% (89/121) | 62% (82/132) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 70% (62/89) | 68% (56/82) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 50% (16/32) | 56% (28/50) |
| Break Points Saved | 50% (5/10) | 75% (9/12) |
| Service Games | 75% (15/20) | 85% (17/20) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 32% (26/82) | 30% (27/89) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 44% (22/50) | 50% (16/32) |
| Break Points Won | 25% (3/12) | 50% (5/10) |
| Pressure Points | 50% (21/42) | 52% (22/42) |
| Service Points | 64% (78/121) | 64% (84/132) |
| Return Points | 36% (48/132) | 36% (43/121) |
| Net Points | 68% (30/44) | 54% (15/28) |
| Total Points | 50% (126/253) | 50% (127/253) |
| Max Points In A Row | 5 | 6 |
| Match Points Saved | 1 | – |
| Service Games | 75% (15/20) | 85% (17/20) |
| Return Games | 15% (3/20) | 25% (5/20) |
| Total Games | 45% (18/40) | 55% (22/40) |
| Max Games In A Row | 3 | 4 |
Highlights
Matteo Arnaldi def. Matteo Berrettini 7-5, 5-2 ret.
Matteo Arnaldi reached the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career in unfortunate circumstances after fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini was forced to retire injured during their Roland Garros quarter-final.
Berrettini appeared to injure the upper part of his left leg early in the second set and, despite attempting to continue after an off-court medical timeout, eventually had no choice but to stop with Arnaldi leading 7-5, 5-2.
It was a cruel ending for Berrettini, but pretty much the story of his career, and he’s not up to the rigours of the sport.
I asked in my previous post whether the former Wimbledon finalist could maintain this form for the grass-court season, historically his strongest stretch of the calendar, and now that looks unlikely.
Regardless of the injury, the match had already swung heavily in Arnaldi’s favour after a chaotic opening. Arnaldi made a nightmare start, dropping his opening two service games to fall 0-3 behind while showinf fatigue from the scenic route he had taken through the draw.
But he didn’t throw the set away, gradually settling into the rallies and extended points, and began forcing Berrettini into more physical exchanges rather than allowing the match to revolve purely around his serve and forehand dominance.
After taking the opening set, Arnaldi quickly moved ahead in the second before Berrettini finally accepted he could no longer continue as his movement became non-existent.
Match Stats
| Key Stats | Matteo Berrettini | Matteo Arnaldi |
|---|---|---|
| Winners | 26 | 16 |
| Unforced Errors | 37 | 16 |
| Aces | 4 | 1 |
| Double Faults | 1 | 3 |
| 1st Serve % | 64% (56/87) | 66% (37/56) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 59% (33/56) | 65% (24/37) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 35% (11/31) | 58% (11/19) |
| Break Points Saved | 67% (10/15) | 0% (0/3) |
| Service Games | 44% (4/9) | 70% (7/10) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 35% (13/37) | 41% (23/56) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 42% (8/19) | 65% (20/31) |
| Break Points Won | 100% (3/3) | 33% (5/15) |
| Pressure Points | 72% (13/18) | 28% (5/18) |
| Service Points | 51% (44/87) | 63% (35/56) |
| Return Points | 38% (21/56) | 49% (43/87) |
| Net Points | 65% (15/23) | 59% (10/17) |
| Total Points | 45% (65/143) | 55% (78/143) |
| Max Points In A Row | 7 | 6 |
| Service Games | 44% (4/9) | 70% (7/10) |
| Return Games | 30% (3/10) | 56% (5/9) |
| Total Games | 37% (7/19) | 63% (12/19) |
| Max Games In A Row | 3 | 4 |
Highlights
French Open 2026 Day 13 Semi-Final Matches
- Matteo Arnaldi vs Flavio Cobolli (10)
- Jakub Mensik (26) vs Alexander Zverev (2)