Top 2 seeds Casper Ruud and Matteo Berrettini withdraw from Kitzbuhel Open
ATP
Casper Ruud and Matteo Berrettini were supposed to be the first two seeded players at the 2022 Kitzbuhel Open, but they both withdrew from the event.
On Sunday, Ruud defeated Berrettini in the final of the 2022 Swiss Open in Gstaad. They battled for more than 2 and a half hours. The Italian player won the opening set 6-4, and he had three break points in the second set but couldn't use them.
Ultimately, Ruud won the second set in a tie-break and dominated in the third set to win the match 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2, lifting the trophy in Gstaad. After reaching the final of the tournament, which was played on July 24th, both players decided to take some time off and skip the 2022 Kitzbuhel Open.
The first-round action in Kitzbuhel starts on July 25th, but Ruud and Berrettini wouldn't get into action until July 27th, as they were the top two seeded players. That means they also had a first-round bye, starting in the second round of the tournament.
However, they still chose to withdraw, and they had to be replaced by lucky losers. Since they were also seeded players with byes, their spots had to be taken by the other seeded players, who would normally not have a first-round bye.
Top-seeded Ruud was replaced by Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who is the fifth seed in Gstaad. The Spanish player will take on the winner of the match between Juan Pablo Varillas and Carlos Taberner in the second round.
On the other hand, Berrettini's spot was taken over by the sixth-seeded Tallon Griekspoor who now has a first-round bye, too. The Dutch player will play against either Yannick Hanfmann or Gerald Melzer in the second round.
While fans in Kitzbuhel will be disappointed not to see Ruud and Berrettini, the tournament still kept a competitive field that should entertain fans in the Austrian city. Ruud, on the other hand, will enjoy celebrations, as he was very happy about his triumph in Gstaad.
"I think Switzerland is a country with a lot of history now in tennis, winning a lot of Grand Slams with Roger [Federer] and Stan [Wawrinka] the last 18 or 19 years."
"So it’s been an inspiration to everyone around the world, including myself, that they are able to come from a small country, sort of like Norway. Everything about Switzerland reminds me a little bit about Norway."
