The last American to be eliminated from Roland Garros, Francis Tiafoe becomes the latest top player to be eliminated from the tournament. The 19th-seeded Tiafoe lost in a five-set fourth-round match to unranked Matteo Arnaldi 7(7)-6(5), 6(5)-7(7), 3-6, 7(7)-6(3), 6-4.
In a match that lasted just after 1 a.m. local time in Paris and featured three tie-breaks, Arnaldi made a late push to escape from a 2-1 hole to take a decisive fifth set and advance to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
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The tense and grueling match quickly collapsed in the third set, with Tiafoe gaining the upper hand and Arnaldi reversing the match. At one point it looked like the match would last more than five hours; Then it looked like Tiafoe might end things four hours ago.
Instead, the match was a marathon event lasting 5 hours and 26 minutes. Arnaldi won the first set in a tiebreak. The pair then reached the two-and-a-half hour mark before the match was half over, with Tiafoe winning the second tiebreak.
The third set went much easier for Tiafoe, picking up a crucial break to take a 4-2 lead. The American used that momentum to take the lead and start the fourth set. But Arnaldi did not give up. Buoyed by a small but loud crowd of Italian fans, they overcame a 4-1 deficit in the fourth set to take the decisive fifth set.
Tiafoe did not back down and was forced into another tie-break, but he was starting to show signs of fatigue from the match. In the tiebreak, he committed two double faults, one of which gave Arnaldi his seventh point and sent the match to a fifth set.
The deciding set started evenly, but halfway through Arnaldi began to pull away from a tired-looking Tiafoe. Tiafoe showed a moment of spark, coming through the break and picking up some clever points to tie the game at 4-4. Arnaldi then bounced back and came within one game of reaching the quarter-finals for the first time.
That’s when Tiafoe, whose back was covered in red clay after diving for a shot, dug deep to survive and thwarted Arnaldi’s two match points, allowing the Italian to finally break through and claim victory.
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This was Tiafoe’s third consecutive five-set match, with the American defeating Hubert Harkasz in the second round and fending off an upset of Jaime Faria in the third round. All three of these matches lasted over five hours with multiple tiebreaks. In some ways, it’s no surprise that something finally broke for Tiafoe. But even in the loss, he gave it his all on the court, clearly pushing his body to its limits.
Meanwhile, Arnaldi, who had never made it past the fourth round at a major tournament, became the third Italian to reach the men’s quarter-finals on Monday, following Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli. Arnaldi will face compatriot Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals, while 10th seed Cobolli will face fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
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Tiafoe’s exit makes him the latest top seed to be eliminated in a highly volatile tournament. On Thursday, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner lost to an unranked opponent, while Novak Djokovic also suffered a surprising early upset.
All Americans were now eliminated from the tournament. In addition to Tiafoe, the only remaining Americans, Zachary Svaida and Madison Keys, also lost on Monday.
