COVID-19 is still not behind us yet in the tennis world, and Matteo Berrettini is the latest to fall victim to the strict rules around having the virus.
After Marin Cilic was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon after a positive test result, Italian Matteo Berrettini is the latest to follow suit. Both former finalists will be unable to try and better their best results in SW19 after contracting the famous COVID-19.
Despite his recent injury, Berrettini was potentially one of the tournament favourites this year. The heavy-server was coming into this year's tournament having won two grass court tournaments back-to-back.
Finalist in 2021, Berrettini would have come into Wimbledon in unbeatable form - he has not lost any of his last 9 matches on grass. As one can imagine, this latest test result will certainly be a tough one to swallow for the Italian. In a statement, he expressed his disappoinment:
"I am heartbroken to announce that I need to withdraw from Wimbledon due to a positive COVID-19 test result. I have had flu symptoms and been isolating the last few days. Despite symptoms not being severe, I decided it was important to take another test this morning to protect the health and safety of my fellow competitors and everyone else involved in the tournament.I have no words to describe the extreme disappointed I feel. The dream is over for this year, but I will be back stronger."
Announcements of COVID-19 positive results for Matteo Berrettini and Marin Cilic will certainly be worrying also for others. It will certainly be of increased interest of two of the big favourites Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who trained with Cilic and Berrettini.
However, should both avoid the dreaded disease, they will certainly see it as good news to have one of the biggest other hopefuls for the trophy out of the tournament.