Racket player battles 17 hours 42 minutes to reach Roland Garros 2026 quarterfinals

Pushing opponents into physical torture sessions is how Matteo Arnaldi is writing a beautiful story at Roland Garros this year.

The Italian player - Matteo Arnaldi has created a special milestone at Roland Garros 2026 by becoming the player with the longest total playing time in the first four rounds of a Grand Slam since the Open Era.

After a thrilling fourth-round victory over Frances Tiafoe, Arnaldi officially earned his first career quarterfinal spot at Roland Garros. More notably, the 25-year-old player spent a total of 17 hours and 42 minutes on court to secure his place among the top eight.

This achievement allows Arnaldi to break the record held for over three decades by Nicklas Kulti, who played 15 hours 44 minutes in the first four rounds at Roland Garros 1992.

The Italian's path to the quarterfinals is a series of challenging matches. In the opening round, he took over 4 hours to overcome Tallon Griekspoor after an impressive comeback. Next, the compatriot of Jannik Sinner defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in a match lasting over 3 hours.

In the third round, Arnaldi endured another tense battle lasting nearly 5 hours against Raphael Collignon. Not stopping there, his clash with Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round stretched to 5 hours 26 minutes, becoming his most physically demanding match of the tournament this year.

In this match, Arnaldi showed incredible endurance and composure. The player born in 2001 fell behind 2-1 to Tiafoe, then allowed the American to pull away in the fourth set which he had to win. Defeat seemed imminent, but Arnaldi fought back as strongly as possible, leveling at 5-5, winning the tiebreak, and then taking the decisive fifth set.

Before arriving in Paris, Matteo Arnaldi went through an extremely difficult period due to a leg injury. However, winning the ATP Challenger Cagliari (Sardegna Open) on home soil after beating Hubert Hurkacz in the final helped the player who once helped Italy win the 2023 Davis Cup regain the necessary confidence.

In this year's Roland Garros quarterfinals, Arnaldi will face fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini in a highly anticipated Italian derby. Arnaldi can exploit Berrettini's backhand weakness, but whether he can maintain his stamina to save the opponent's devastating forehand strokes remains a big question mark.