Italy's Matteo Berrettini on Tuesday
pulled out of the ATP Finals in Turin after an abdominal injury
that forced him to retire from his opening match against
Germany's Alexander Zverev on Monday night.
"I have thought, reflected, cried and in the end I have
decided...My Finals end here, I'm destroyed, I never would have
thought I would have to pull out of the most important tennis
event ever held in Italy in this way", said the 25-year-old
Roman world number seven, who lost a hard-fought first set
against Zverev before retiring hurt at 1-0 down in the second.
Italy's world number 11 Jannik Sinner is set to come in for his
injured compatriot, starting against Poland's Hubert Hurkacz
Tuesday night.
The Pole lost his opening match to world number two Daniil
Medvedev, who is two games up and has one foot in the semis
after also beating Zverev in a thriller, and who trained with
Sinner earlier Tuesday.
Berrettini added: "The truth is that however much I would have
wanted to play in front of you again, I felt and therefore
decided that my body is not ready to face the challenges I have
ahead of me, and to say I am sad would not do justice to the
state of mind I'm in, I feel robbed of something that I
conquered with years of efforts and sweat.
"It was not an easy decision, but I'm convinced that it is the
best for me and my career. Thanks for your constant support and
the thousands of messages you have sent me, you have moved me".
Berrettini, who has been dogged by injury over the years, may
now well be a doubt for the David Cup Finals in Turin against
USA and Colombia, a round-robin tournament that starts November
25.
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