“The worst thing that could have happened,” Matteo Berrettini broke down after the ATP Finals disaster


“The worst thing that could have happened,” Matteo Berrettini broke down after the ATP Finals disaster

Misfortune hit Matteo Berrettini during his first match at the 2021 ATP Finals. While battling Germany’s Alexander Zverev, the Italian suffered an abdominal injury. Despite receiving medical aid, and trying his best, Berrettini was unable to bounce back and was forced to retire. Having to face such an unfortunate event in front of his country’s crowd left the sixth seed in tears.

ADVERTISEMENT

The 25-year-old Berrettini appeared in the Wimbledon finals this year, where he lost to world no. 1 Novak Djokovic. He had also made it to the fourth round of the Australian Open and quarterfinals of Roland Garros. At the French Open, he became the first Italian man to reach the fourth round of every grand slam. Although he had a slow start to the season, two title wins(at Belgrade, and London), and overall consistency helped him qualify for the ATP Finals. The famed year-end tournament welcomes the top 8 singles and doubles ATP players to take part. Berrettini has been ranked 7th since his mid-September.

Matteo Berrettini: Turin turn-off

Matteo Berrettini
Matteo Berrettini

The 2021 ATP Finals are being held in Turin, Italy. As a result, Matteo Berrettini was the crowd favourite, with massive Italian backing. He was quite excited at the prospect of playing in his country, however, his ill-timed injury has broken his dreams.

Berrettini’s first clash was with Alexander Zverev. Zverev won the first set 7-6 after a long battle. But after ceding the first point to Zverev in the second set, he could no longer continue. After mid-match medical timeout, it was clear that he was in no condition to play, and he tearfully withdrew. “The atmosphere was one of the best I ever felt in my life. It was unbelievable. That is probably why I feel so bad right now. Not being able to finish the match is killing me. It is just really tough to face. I really wanted to enjoy every second, that’s what we said as a team. The worst thing that could have happened, happened” he said after the match.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It is mentally really tough for me” Matteo Berrettini on getting injured in the same spot for the second time

Matteo Berrettini being comforted by Alexander Zverev

Earlier this year, while playing at the Australian Open, Matteo Berrettini had sustained his first abdominal injury that had backtracked his season by 2 months. Getting injured in the same spot again was agonizing for the Italian, who said “It is mentally really tough for me because I used to have an injury close to the same area, so it is tough to play. Also, I don’t know what it is. I have to figure out what it is and then if it is nothing really big, maybe I can play.

Tomorrow with my team and the doctor I will do some checks and I hope it won’t be something that won’t let me play the next two matches. I just felt around the same area on the serve. I got scared and the mental part is the most important part. I remember coming back from that injury, to serve at full power I had to be brave, which is not easy when you felt something before. It was just impossible to keep playing.”

Alexander Zverev spoke to the media, saying that his opponents predicament made him want to cry. “The tennis is not important, the most important thing is both players can shake hands at the end of the match and are healthy” he added.

Twitterati react to Berrettini’s retirement:

Forced to quit mid-match, Berrettini was seen in tears. Opponent Alexander Zverev consoled him as well. Watching this moment, goodwill from fans across the world poured in for the injured Italian:

ADVERTISEMENT

Also read: “It seems a bit selfish to me” Rafael Nadal takes a dig at people who refuse to get vaccinated