Arnaldi describes insane win over Tiafoe as 'something else' that wasn't tennis

[p]The match lasted five hours and 26 minutes and ended with both men moving as if badly blistered.[/p][p][b]"I don't know how I am standing here," [/b]said [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arnaldi-matteo/hlVLAfZK/"]Arnaldi[/a], adding that he had been hobbled by a foot injury earlier in the year.[/p][p]It was his second consecutive five-hour match after his five-set win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/collignon-raphael/xzJGXJ6t/"]Raphael Collignon[/a] in the previous round.[/p][p][b]"In the third set I was so tired,"[/b] he said.[/p][embed guid="96097f85-5dee-4d59-836b-083f24cc6d8a" url="https://x.com/rolandgarros/status/2061587948445868168?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tiafoe-frances/AHDLJaph/"]Tiafoe[/a] appeared to be cruising when he raced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/arnaldi-m-hlVLAfZK/tiafoe-f-AHDLJaph/?mid=jXjiOxDc"]4-1[/a] ahead with a double-break in the fourth set, flat-footing Arnaldi with quick hands and unexpected angles.[/p][p]Instead, with the Americans' own footwork slowing, Arnaldi won nine of the next 13 games, as well as a tie-break, to move 4-2 ahead in the fifth.[/p][p]Yet the 28-year-old Tiafoe hauled himself to 4-4.[/p][p]Arnaldi seized back the initiative by breaking the love.[/p][p]The Italian wasted a first match point with a double-fault, but, despite some brave hitting by Tiafoe, finally took his third chance.[/p][p][b]"At some point, it wasn't tennis, it was something else," [/b]Arnaldi said. [b]"You were just playing with everything you had. There had to be a winner, and fortunately, it was me."[/b][/p][embed guid="74fa9483-cb7c-4617-bd85-92882dca77b7" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5W_vrfNHpc&pp=ygURYXJuYWxkaSB2cyB0aWFmb2XSBwkJKAsBhyohjO8%3D" social-type="youtube" /][p]Arnaldi will face another unseeded Italian, resurgent [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/berrettini-matteo/OhwtM7N8/"]Matteo Berrettini[/a], in the quarter-finals.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cobolli-flavio/zDtaCcPe/"]Flavio Cobolli[/a], the top Italian seed at 10 following the early elimination of world No.1 [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Jannik Sinner[/a], will play fourth-seeded [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/auger-aliassime-felix/CzXh4LAb/"]Felix Auger-Aliassime[/a] in the last eight.[/p]