Matteo Berrettini vs Francisco Comesana was the second-longest match of the tournament so far this year. Yes, they played their hearts (and their lungs) out in a five-hour thriller. But it was more than just their competitive spirits that pushed the match into the fifth set and made the headlines. It was a question of the physical, one that pushed the Italian, who was competing in Paris for the first time since 2021, to approach the chair umpire.

In an absolute thriller at the Court Simonne-Mathieu, the two put on a great show for the crowd and dragged the match into the deciding fifth set, where the Italian eventually came out on top 7-6, 5-7, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 after five hours and 13 minutes. The match featured an incredible super tiebreak in which Berrettini saved multiple match points to clinch the win. But the heat in Paris, evenly matched by the heat on the court, caught up to Comesana by the time the fifth set commenced.

He started suffering from stomach issues and didn’t look his best on the court. The Argentine somehow held on until the sixth game of the set before taking a medical timeout at 3-2 and racing towards the toilet for the third time during the match. However, Berrettini wasn’t happy about this and complained to the chair umpire about his opponent’s frequent toilet breaks, as his opponent had already taken two.

The ATP announced in 2021 that a player could take only one three-minute toilet break per match, plus an additional two minutes if they have to change clothes. The break had to be taken during a set break. For ‘best of five’ matches like this one, a maximum of two breaks is allowed. Medical timeouts are also three minutes long and reserved for treating medical emergencies, including heat exhaustion. But they do not accommodate bathroom breaks, which raises questions about the umpire’s call and justifies Berrettini’s protests.

‘edgeAI’s X page shared a transcription of his exchange with the umpire. “Comesana just had 2 toilet breaks and now is taking a medical timeout to go to the toilet again? You’re supposed to be in charge,” he was heard saying.

But the umpire didn’t entertain any of his complaints and explained that she couldn’t do anything in that situation, as the supervisor had allowed Comesana to take the break.

“This is a supervisor decision, you can ask them, nothing I can do,” the chair umpire told Berrettini.

Comesana appeared to be feeling better as he returned to the court, and the set became pretty evenly-matched once again. There was nothing to separate the players in the end as the deciding set headed into a tiebreaker.

Despite facing match points at 8-9 and 12-13 respectively, Berrettini was somehow able to survive and keep the tiebreak going. He eventually converted his fourth match point to win the tiebreak 15-13 and seal a grueling victory in Paris. The Italian’s strong serve was a big factor behind this result as he fired a total of 20 aces during the match.

Berrettini is now just one win away from advancing to the quarterfinals, the same stage he had reached in his last appearance at the French Open. The 30-year-old last played the tournament in 2021 and reached the fourth round, where he was supposed to face Roger Federer. But Feder withdrew, and Berretini got a walkover to the quarter finals, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets (3-6, 2-6, 7-6, 5-7).

The Italian missed the last four editions due to a variety of injuries. Describing the win over Comesana as “unbelievable”, Berrettini highlighted the kind of effort that he had to put in to get the result.

“Francisco played an unbelievable match. It was an unbelievable match, I really had to find my way [through], and I gave it everything I had,” he said during his post-match interview.

Having emerged victorious in the marathon battle against Comesana, Berrettini is now scheduled to face another Argentine in the fourth round. He will be locking horns against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, the player who had made headlines by knocking out Jannik Sinner in five sets a few days ago. Cerundolo was then involved in another five-set battle in the third round, this time against Martin Landaluce.

Despite putting in a commendable effort on the court, Comesana will feel that he could have done better but for the fitness issues in the fifth set. To his defense, the weather on game day was hot and humid, with temperatures between 28 °C and 34 °C. And he isn’t the only one who has had to take emergency bathroom breaks mid-match at this year’s French Open. Another player had suffered from a similar problem during the very first day of the main draw.

Arthur Gea rushed to the bathroom mid-match against Karen Khachanov

Arthur Gea faced an unexpected issue on his French Open debut against Karen Khachanov. The Frenchman desperately wanted to take a bathroom break when he was serving at 1-4 in the first set. When the game was leveled at 40-40, Gea had no choice but to take a medical timeout and to rush to the bathroom.

“I’ve got the runs, I need to go to the bathroom, I can’t move anymore, I’m gonna sh*t on the court,” he was heard saying during the match.

Things wouldn’t get better for Gea after he got back to the court, as Khachanov proved to be too good for the 21-year-old. The Russian began his campaign with a dominant 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 win.

Following the forgettable debut, Gea revealed that he had been unwell since that morning and had been given medicine for stomach pain. On top of this, the extremely hot conditions in Paris made matters worse for the youngster. For context, the temperature had soared up to 33°C in the French capital during that day.

“During the match, it was even worse. I had to go to the toilet really quickly. It was harder than usual, because I was ill,” he said after the match.

It won’t be wrong to say that the hot weather in Paris has played a major role in some players suffering from stomach pain or exhaustion during their matches. However, the weather is expected to drastically change next week, with rain being forecasted in the coming days.