World No. 44 Matteo Arnaldi shared his thoughts after defeating Frances Tiafoe 6/3, 7/5 in the fourth round of the tournament in Madrid. The Italian player has reached his first-ever quarterfinal at a clay-court Masters event.
“I am very happy, I played a great match,” said Arnaldi. “I know Frances well; we had a tough battle at Wimbledon, so this win feels a bit like revenge. I played confidently and managed the key moments effectively. I didn`t serve out the match at 5/4 in the second set, but I immediately made an instant break back.”
He added, “This year I beat Djokovic, and two years ago I beat Ruud, but after those wins, I lost 0:2 in sets in the following matches, so I needed to improve. Now the main thing is to stay focused, keep working on perfecting my game, and work hard. The last two matches have been challenging battles, and I`m looking forward to the next one.”
Marcus Prine