"Why is he so close to him": John McEnroe baffled at decision to hold joint press conference between sick Arnaldi and Cobolli
ATPSaturday, 06 June 2026 at 03:30
John McEnroe was left perplexed by Matteo Arnaldi and Flavio Cobolli deciding to hold a joint press conference together in the same room and walking in together despite Arnaldi pulling out of his French Open semi-final after contracting a virus.
Cobolli now has to prepare for a final with Alexander Zverev at the French Open and do so with the potential that given this decision, he might end up sick himself. ”If Arnaldi is here and doing a press conference, why is Cobolli so close to him? If he is sick and has a virus you wouldn’t want to catch it," said McEnroe on TNT.
But he believes that Arnaldi's gruelling battles caught up to him enough that he ended up sick. "It sucks, that’s the bottom line," McEnroe added.
Arnaldi spent a record time since 1991 on court during this tournament with nearly 20 hours in the heat that Paris brought and while he said he felt great, it was illness that crushed his chance of facing his close friend who now has the ultimate chance to be the Italian to savour his moment.
"I’m no doctor but I think it caught up with him. The guy had played more tennis to get to the semis than anyone had ever played in this event. Combine that with some nerves and some bad luck, or the wrong food.
”I was amazed that Arnaldi bounced back as well as he did after the [Frances] Tiafoe match to be honest. He played five-and-a-half hours. He played a couple of marathon matches.”
Henman garners sympathy
While Tim Henman also gave him sympathy that he was in this position and he couldn't convert for illness reasons and said that now Cobolli in particular just has to let it go and focus on the final where he will be the outsider. But will have a chance against a long time awaited potential Grand Slam winner in Zverev.
”Against Tiafoe he was down two sets to one, a double break, then Tiafoe was up 5-4 serving for the match, and his spirit, he has worked and fought so hard to put himself in this position.
MATTEO ARNALDI of Italy during the match against M. Berrettini in the quarterfinals of tennis tournament Roland Garros
”This is the moment of his life, to get into this position, and all of a sudden he has had a terrible night and feels dreadful and doesn’t have the opportunity to go on the court. We have had so many highlights this tournament and this is a big lowlight.”
”It’s so disappointing for Arnaldi, and for Cobolli he has to accept it and not dwell on it," Henman added.
”He has to move on quickly and start focusing on his opportunity in the final.”
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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