Matteo Berrettini won't be playing at the 2024 Italian Open in Rome, as he was forced to withdraw from the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
This year's Madrid Open was supposed to have a spectacular entry list with both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal playing along with the new stars of the game, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
A few years after Djokovic famously and jokingly proclaimed himself and Nadal 'the Next Gen' they seem to be just that. Both of them play while the younger players are not playing because of injuries.
It's a bizarre coincidence, and Berrettini added his name to the list of relatively younger players who withdrew from the event. The Italian isn't the youngest among them, but he's still considered among the players who are or were supposed to challenge the Big Three.
He hasn't had the best of times this year with injuries, and this is just the latest setback in that regard. Just a few days ago, Berrettini spoke about how excited he was about getting back to his hometown, but now he has to withdraw.
"I just want to talk to you guys and say personally I'm not going to be able to play tomorrow. I'm not ready to perform and to give my best on court. I tried everything because this tournament is extra special for me."
"I have to put away my heart, I would say, use my brain a little bit more, think about what's most important for me, which is my health and not getting injured again, not being away from the courts for months potentially. It's with a lot of sadness that I have to pull out."
Berrettini has now missed a couple of these home events, and it's just brutal for him. The last time he played in Rome was back in 2021, so it's been a long time since he played in the Italian capital.
"Just think about this tournament for 2025 and hopefully nothing is going to happen. Maybe wish that's something is going to happen so nothing is going to happen. Extra sad again for me pulling out."
His inability to stay healthy is even more worrying because he plays really well when he's healthy. He triumphed in Marrakech a few weeks ago but just can't keep himself on the courts.
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