SUMMARY
- Italian star Matteo Berrettini announced his withdrawal from the Australian Open.
- Matteo was set to take on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round.
The Australian Open is off to a great start, but it has brought bad tidings already. Italian star Matteo Berrettini is going through a rough patch, and a string of bad luck has followed him down under. In a massive blow, Berrettini is set to miss the first Grand Slam of the year due to an injury.
Berrettini suffered a new injury to his right foot, which unfortunately sealed his fate. Following this, the Italian star announced his withdrawal from the first marquee event of the year.
Matteo injured his ankle against Arthur Rinderknech at the US Open last year. He has not played a single match since August 31, and the Australian Open would have marked his comeback. With his withdrawal confirmed, this is the third consecutive tournament he will miss. Matteo had previously decided to sit out of Brisbane and the Kooyong Classic due to physical problems.
Wishing @MattBerrettini a speedy recovery after being forced to withdraw from Melbourne with a right foot injury. 🙏 He will be replaced in the draw by Zizou Bergs.
Read more 👉 https://t.co/906vuF6EXv @AustralianOpen | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/XG5seXJV6e
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 14, 2024
Berrettini was supposed to take on last year’s finalist, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in the first round. However, his withdrawal has left a void in the main draw of the event.
Matteo Berrettini has faced several roadblocks in his career, and he has overcome all of them. This is yet another obstacle, and right at the start of the season too, that he will have to recover from. With Matteo now out, the question of his replacement still remains. The Italian player went 12-11 in 2023 and will hope to better his record when he returns to the court.
Who will replace Matteo Berrettini at the Australian Open?
Since Matteo is out of the Australian Open, Belgian player Zizou Bergs will step in as his replacement in Melbourne. Bergs is the lucky loser who will now lock horns with Tsitsipas in the first round.
The Belgian is currently ranked 130 in the ATP rankings. He will play in Melbourne for the second time in his career, after crashing out in the first round last year. Zizou took to social media to express his excitement to be playing at the Grand Slam again.
Lets bring that heart tomorrow❤️ https://t.co/cEHyCRhyoz
— Zizou Bergs (@ZizouBergs) January 14, 2024
Instead of Matteo Berrettini, the seventh-seeded Stefanos will now face a different opponent. The Greek will hope to replicate last year’s run when he made it to the finals and maybe even better his record. Their match is scheduled to be played on January 15.