Tennis star that told Djokovic ‘I’m coming for you’ pulls out of Paris Masters

Novak Djokovic says he will ‘keep going’ after US Open win

Matteo Arnaldi has pulled out of the Paris Masters just days after warning Novak Djokovic “I’m coming for you”. The 22-year-old Italian enjoyed a back-and-forth with this year’s three-time Grand Slam champion and many had hoped that the pair would meet for the very first time in France, but Arnaldi’s withdrawal has confirmed that fans would be left waiting.

Arnaldi had been due to face Stan Wawrinka in the first round, but an update from the tournament confirmed that he had pulled out and a lucky loser would instead enter the main draw in his place. The up-and-coming star confirmed that a “family problem” prevented him from competing this week.

“Unfortunately I had to withdraw from the @rolexparismasters due to a family problem, thanks for all the support and the messages we’ve received,” he wrote on Instagram. “I will take some time to rest and then me and my team we will get ready to end the season at its best playing for Italy once again in the Davis Cup. Thank you all.”

Arnaldi most recently suffered a 7-5, 6-3 defeat to Andrey Rublev in the last 16 of the Vienna Open but had gone viral once a picture of him hitting a shot while doing the splits surfaced on social media. He then re-posted the picture of a split with Spider-Man to his Instagram story and said: “@djokernole I’m coming for you.” Tennis Channel has initially captioned the post: “Tell us he’s not Spider-Man.”

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Djokovic, who has been known for his gymnastics on court, brutally fired back at the jibe: “First, you need to be facing the net and not the wall. Then we can talk.”

Arnaldi and Djokovic have never faced each other but there was hope that this week’s Paris Masters would set the stage for their first meeting. They could have met in the quarter-finals should both players advance that far, before Arnaldi pulled out of the tournament.

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Arnaldi has previously opened up on how the Serbian superstar is his idol and he did get the chance to train with the 24-time Major winner ahead of last year’s Italian Open. “Novak has always been my idol and that’s why I entered the field a bit tense,” Arnaldi explained. “It was an incredible feeling to be able to trade with the No 1 in the world.

“Technically I found him extremely clean compared to the others I have played with up to now. His ball is very flat and you have a hard time playing with it, even on clay. It takes away your time, you can’t do anything you have in mind.”

Arnaldi even branded himself as “little Djokovic” in an interview with Italian newspaper II Mesaggero over his perceived likeness with the Serb. “Given the due proportions, there are some similarities: I too would define myself as a counter-attacker and I have always done the splits,” he said when asked why he had given himself the nickname.

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