Former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini pulls out of the Australian Open without playing a match as his injury woes continue
- Matteo Berrettini withdrew from the Australian Open without playing a match
- Berrettini, 27, would face Stefanos Tsitsipas, 25, in the first round
- The former Wimbledon finalist is struggling with an injury to his right foot
Matteo Berrettini withdrew from the Australian Open without playing a match as his injury problems continued.
The former Wimbledon finalist was due to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in one of the first round points matches at Rod Laver Arena on Monday.
But on Sunday afternoon the tournament announced that he had withdrawn with a right foot injury, meaning he has been unable to play a match for the fourth time in the last eight Grand Slam tournaments.
The popular Italian, a semi-finalist in Melbourne in 2022, has been removed from the tour since suffering an ankle injury during his second round match against Arthur Rinderknech at the US Open.
He had previously missed the French Open due to an abdominal injury, while he also sat out Roland Garros in 2022 after hand surgery and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of Wimbledon.
Matteo Berrettini (above) withdrew from the Australian Open without playing a match
The former Wimbledon finalist was scheduled to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round
Once ranked as high as world number six, the 27-year-old, beaten by Djokovic in the 2021 Wimbledon final, is now at 125.
He has been replaced in the draw by Belgian lucky loser Zizou Bergs, who will face Tsitsipas on Monday.
Fourth seed Jannik Sinner, one of the favorites for the title after his stellar finish to 2023, started his campaign with a straight sets win over Botic Van De Zandschulp.
Sinner, who defeated Djokovic twice in a matter of days at the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup in November, was a 6-4 7-5 6-3 winner at Rod Laver Arena.
The Italian did not play a warm-up tournament after his late finish last season and he said: ‘I feel like I actually started the first game really well.
‘After that I had a few moments where I made some bad choices, but this can happen. Even if you may have made a few matches, this can happen. Maybe you’re a little tired sometimes.
“It was important for me today because I was looking forward to being on the field.”
Former finalist Marin Cilic played his first Grand Slam match since the 2022 US Open after knee surgery, but was defeated in four sets by Hungarian Fabian Marozsan.