Matteo Berrettini was eager to have a fantastic start of his ATP finals in Turin on Sunday against Alexander Zverev. Unfortunately, that ended badly with the charismatic Italian retiring in the second set with an abdominal injury when he was 6-7 1-1 down.
The injury
Matteo was very well aware of his issue (left oblique) after he lost a point in the third game of the second set. He immediately asked for the trainer, but it was clear that he had little chance to end the encounter. Eventually, Matteo Berrettini had to call it a day after playing only point.
The Italian was clearly struggling with the emotions. During the press conference that followed his match, Matteo commented:
“The atmosphere was one of the best that I felt in my whole life and that’s probably why I feel so bad right now. The thought of not being able to finish the match was killing me. The worst thing that could have happened, happened.
It is probably the worst day I’ve had on a tennis court in my life.”
Jannik Sinner to take over?
Upcoming Italian Jannik Sinner is the first alternate. Even if Matteo Berrettini said that he was still hopeful to play the next matches, it is more and more likely that Sinner will take over.
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All of us after Berrettini is forced to withdraw at home in Turin#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/hjXI2zZDyX
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 14, 2021
Matteo Berrettini in 2021
Now ranked no.7 (career-high), Berrettini played his last match on the 14th of November when he had to retire when playing against world no.3 Alexander Zverev in the round robin and the scoreline was 7-6(7) 1-0 .
At the moment, during this season Berrettini achieved an overall 41-12 match record. The Italian conquered 2 titles in 2021 in Belgrade and in London. The Italian reached the final in Madrid and in Wimbledon.
Alexander Zverev in 2021
Now the world no.3 (career-high), Zverev played his last match on the 14th of November when he had to retire when playing against world no.7 Matteo Berrettini in the round robin and the scoreline was 7-6(7) 1-0 .
At the moment, during this season the German owns a compiled 56-14 win-loss record. Zverev conquered 5 titles in 2021 in Acapulco, in Madrid, in Tokyo, in Cincinnati and in Vienna.
Matteo Berrettini and Alexander Zverev clashed against each other 5 times. Their actual record is 4-1 for Zverev. The last time they fought against each other, Alexander Zverev won 7-6(7) 1-0 ret. in the round robin in Turin (Nitto ATP Finals) on the 14th of November 2021.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
