Jannik Sinner lost as the World No. 1 at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers on Saturday night but there’s another Italian in the semifinals — Matteo Arnaldi.
He’ll face the player who beat Sinner in Montréal, Andrey Rublev, in Sunday’s final four.
Get to know more about Arnaldi here.
He was born in the Italian Riviera
Arnaldi was born in San Remo, Italy — around a 45-minute drive from Monte Carlo. He shares that in common with his compatriot, Fabio Fognini.
Arnaldi reached a career high of no. 22 as a junior and played his first professional event in 2018.
As he climbed the ranks, Arnaldi faced fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti — now a Grand Slam semi-finalist and Olympic medallist — at the first Challenger he ever contested in 2019. He took part in his first ATP tournament at home in Rome as a wildcard in 2022, losing to Grand Slam winner Marin Cilic.
He had a breakthrough 2023
Arnaldi began last year ranked outside the top 130 but by season’s end, was well inside the Top 50. Highlights included making his first ATP quarter-final, then semifinal and getting to the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
Arnaldi also made his debut for Italy in the Davis Cup round robin stage in September as a late call-up and kept his spot in the final eight.
READ: Rublev finally getting some wins in Canada
He is a smiler
Like Alcaraz, Arnaldi, 23, likes to smile on court. He idolized Novak Djokovic, with his style of play somewhat similar to the 24-time Grand Slam winner and Olympic gold medalist.
Arnaldi mostly patrols the baseline and is a good mover. He also has the ability to go quickly from defending in a rally to attacking with a cap always in tow.
He’s part of an Italian tennis renaissance
Italian men’s tennis, arguably, has never been in a better state. Arnaldi is one of nine Italian men ranked inside the Top 100 — and six are 23 or younger.
Known formerly as a nation succeeding just on clay, now the wins and titles are coming on all surfaces.
“At the moment, we are in a very good position. We saw that in the Olympic Games also,” said Sinner, likely referring to women’s doubles gold courtesy of Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini and Musetti’s bronze in singles. “It was nice. Yeah, it's just nice to see a huge part of Italian tennis coming into the tennis world. Mostly we are all very young, which is very nice. Everyone is different player. It's not that everyone plays in the same way. So, yeah, it's very positive.”
He has rallied this week
Arnaldi had never made a Masters 1000 quarter-final prior to this week. To get there at IGA Stadium, he’s had to come back a few times.
Arnaldi trailed Mackenzie McDonald by a set and break in his opener; was down break in the first set against Olympic silver medalist Karen Khachanov; fell behind by a set against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina; and reversed a break deficit in the first set against Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals.
Arnaldi beat Rublev in straight sets the last time they played, at the French Open in May.
“I saw him playing (against Sinner),” said Arnaldi. “He was playing really good. So, it's going to be a completely different match from Paris where I think I played one of the best tennis I ever played there.”
Featured photo by: Amélie Caron
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