Berrettini’s only previous withdrawal from a Grand Slam match was at the 2023 US Open.
He also had an early exit from the 2021 ATP Tour Finals due to an abdominal injury, while last season he had to withdraw midway through matches in Madrid and Rome in the run-up to the French Open.
But the former world number six, who had missed the previous four French Open due to injury problems, is determined to take advantage of the positives of reaching a seventh Grand Slam quarter-final in his first appearance at Roland Garros since 2021.
Now ranked 105, he added: “I have to take the good things I did in this tournament, because a few weeks ago or a few days ago, it would have been crazy to think of myself in the quarter-finals, so I will try to go home with a smile on my face.”
“It’s going to be difficult, but that’s how I like to approach these two weeks and of course I’m disappointed, sad, but I’m also proud of the way I fought during this tournament.”
Speaking on court after his victory, Arnaldi said: “You would never want someone to finish the tournament like that.
“He had an incredible tournament. I feel sorry for him and I hope he recovers because soon he will be on the grass and it will be very difficult to play.”
Arnaldi, ranked 104th in the world, is the lowest-ranked men’s player to reach a French Open singles semi-final since Filip Dewulf did so in 1997 when he was ranked 122nd.
On Friday he will play another Italian, 10th seed Flavio Cobolli, for a place in Sunday’s final.
