Matteo Arnaldi entered the 2023 US Open—his first in the main draw—as the other Matteo from Italy.
Rome native Matteo Berrettini, after all, is the former world No. 6 and part-time Hugo Boss model—who was wheeled off the court during Round 2 play, hobbled by an ankle injury.
So Arnaldi, whose current No. 61 ranking is a career high, is picking up the Matteo mantle. And, after a straight-sets ousting of No. 16 seed Cameron Norrie, he’s carrying it into week two of the tournament. Arnaldi also beat French phenom Arthur Fils in a grueling five-set and nearly four-hour Round 2 match.
Another highly relative stat: the rookie from Sanremo will play No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz in Round 4—and likely in Arthur Ashe Stadium, one of the tennis world’s biggest stages.
Here’s what you need to know about this 22-year-old player, who is one of just two Italian men left in the singles draw—a field that includes that other 22-year-old, No. 6 seed Jannik Sinner.
You just can’t avoid the word “first” when talking about him.
This is the first time he has moved past Round 2 at any Grand Slam. He broke into the Top 100 for the first time in May. That’s the same month he qualified for his first Grand Slam main draw, at Roland Garros, where he posted his first Grand Slam win, beating Daniel Galan in the first round. He’s still looking for his first career title on a hard court. We could go on, but you get the picture.
He’s a speedy, stylish player.
Not one to park himself at the baseline and bang groundstrokes, Arnaldi seemed to stun Norrie with the sheer variety to his game. He played an intuitive and—at times—playful game, flicking ungettable lobs and tracking down the spinning angles his lefty opponent uses with success on most days. At the end of the 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 match, Arnaldi racked up an impressive 37 winners (to Norrie’s 24) and cracked five aces.
He’s looking forward to playing Carlos Alcaraz in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“When I saw the draw, that was my goal—to go and play against him,” said Arnaldi about the moment he realized Alcaraz was in his section.
“I don’t want to say we play very similar. But he’s very physical, and I think I’m a bit physical…” was Arnaldi’s modest assessment. “I think I will play on Arthur Ashe.” (We think so, too.)
He’s “speechless.”
“It was a bit crazy, I’m a bit speechless,” said Arnaldi about his quick win over Norrie, in just under two hours.
Arnaldi guessed that his opponent was surprised, as well. “I think he wasn’t expecting me to play like that”—a performance Arnaldi characterized as the “best match of the year for me.”
