Day eleven at Roland Garros wasn’t exactly a classic in terms of quality as none of the quarter-finals really caught fire.
Flavio Cobolli and Felix Auger-Aliassime played out a scrappy, momentum-shifting contest in tricky conditions under the Chatrier roof, while Matteo Berrettini’s comeback ended in disappointing fashion when injury forced him to retire against Matteo Arnaldi.
Italy now has two men in the semi-finals of Roland Garros and is guaranteed a place in Sunday’s final through an all-Italian four-on-four match between Cobolli and Arnaldi.
With Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic both gone early, an opportunity suddenly appeared for another level of player, and Cobolli and Arnaldi have taken full advantage.
Cobolli continues to ride the best form of his career, while Arnaldi somehow continues to survive despite spending almost 18 hours on the track already in Paris.
Full recap, match stats and highlights below.
Day Eleven French Open 2026 Quarter Final Results
| Winner | Loser | Score line |
|---|---|---|
| Matteo Arnaldi | Matteo Berrettini | 7-5 5-2 |
| Flavio Cobolli (10) | Félix Auger-Aliassime (4) | 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 |
Summary of the match
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 as though Auger-Aliassime could be the man of the day as the Canadian handled the difficult windy conditions better early on, using his heavier serve and deeper groundstrokes 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, emerged in strong command as he went ahead 3-1 in the second set. But from that moment on, the game completely turned around.
Cobolli began to play much more aggressively with his forehand, using his explosive movement and footwork to take time away from the Canadian and draw him into longer baseline exchanges.
Once Cobolli leveled the match, he looked 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, repeatedly opening up the court and forcing Auger-Aliassime into hasty defensive positions.
While FAA continued to serve fairly well, he struggled to consistently hurt Cobolli when rallies extended beyond the first few shots.
Cobolli eventually closed out the win in four sets after more than three hours, improving to 3-0 against Auger-Aliassime and recording her first top 10 win of her Slam career.
Oddly enough, the cap closure was probably negative for Aliassime. You’d think he’d be comfortable indoors 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 a bit too easy.
It worked well in the windy conditions because 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 favorite to make the final from this half when the draw opened, and he’s probably streaky enough to win it given the level of competition in front of him.
Match statistics
| Key statistics | Happy Auger-Also | Flavio Cobolli |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 40 | 33 |
| Unforced errors | 47 | 46 |
| Ace | 7 | 8 |
| Double mistake | 4 | 2 |
| 1st serving % | 74% (89/121) | 62% (82/132) |
| 1st Serve point won | 70% (62/89) | 68% (56/82) |
| 2nd serve point won | 50% (16/32) | 56% (28/50) |
| Breakpoints saved | 50% (5/10) | 75% (9/12) |
| Service game | 75% (15/20) | 85% (17/20) |
| 1st return point won | 32% (26/82) | 30% (27/89) |
| 2nd return point won | 44% (22/50) | 50% (16/32) |
| Break point 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 point saved | 1 | – |
| Service game | 75% (15/20) | 85% (17/20) |
| Return game | 15% (3/20) | 25% (5/20) |
| Total game | 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 Italy’s Matteo Berrettini was forced to withdraw injured during his Roland Garros quarter-final.
Berrettini appeared to injure the upper part of his left leg early in the second set and, despite trying to continue after an off-court medical timeout, ultimately had no choice but to retire with Arnaldi leading 7-5, 5-2.
It was a cruel end for Berrettini, but pretty much the story of his career, and he’s not up to the rigors 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 on the calendar, and now it looks unlikely.
Regardless of the injury, the game had already swung heavily in Arnaldi’s favor after a chaotic opening. Arnaldi made a nightmare start, dropping his first two service games to go 0-3 down while showing he was fed up with the scenic route he had taken through the draw.
But he didn’t throw the set away, gradually settling into rallies and extending points, and began to force Berrettini into more physical exchanges rather than letting the match revolve solely around his serve and forehand dominance.
After taking the opening set, Arnaldi quickly moved ahead in the second before Berrettini finally accepted that he could no longer continue as his movement became non-existent.
Match statistics
| Key statistics | Matteo Berrettini | Matteo Arnaldi |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 26 | 16 |
| Unforced errors | 37 | 16 |
| Ace | 4 | 1 |
| Double mistake | 1 | 3 |
| 1st serving % | 64% (56/87) | 66% (37/56) |
| 1st Serve point won | 59% (33/56) | 65% (24/37) |
| 2nd serve point won | 35% (31/11) | 58% (11/19) |
| Breakpoints saved | 67% (10/15) | 0% (0/3) |
| Service game | 44% (4/9) | 70% (7/10) |
| 1st return point won | 35% (13/37) | 41% (23/56) |
| 2nd return point won | 42% (8/19) | 65% (20/31) |
| Break point 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 game | 44% (4/9) | 70% (7/10) |
| Return game | 30% (3/10) | 56% (5/9) |
| Total game | 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)
