By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday November 14, 2021
It was a joyous day for Italian tennis until an injury forced Berrettini to retire in the second set of his battle with Alexander Zverev at the ATP Finals.
Photo Source: Getty
The 52nd edition of the Nitto ATP Finals was to be a special one for Italian tennis. Held in Italy for the first time ever, Italian fans were out in droves, urging on home favorite Matteo Berrettini, the lone Italian qualifier, on Sunday in Turin.
It was an electric atmosphere indeed, as Berrettini battled former champion Alexander Zverev in a thrilling 79-minute first set that saw multiple set points by both. Eventually Zverev took the set, but things got even more somber quickly for Italian fans as Berrettini suffered an abdominal injury and was later forced to retire after one game in the second set.
Zverev’s 7-6(7), 1-0 RET victory left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth, even the German himself.
“To be honest I feel like crying right now,” he admitted. “I don’t know what to say.”
About an hour later Berrettini showed up for a press conference and told reporters that he suffered something very similar to the injury that knocked him out of the Australian Open and caused him to undergo a grueling rehab before he could return to the court in 2021.
Berrettini's despair: It's Killing Me
“It was unbelievable, the atmosphere was one of the best that I ever felt in my life and that's why probably I feel so bad right now,” Berrettini said. “The thought of not finishing the match, that I wasn't able to finish the match is killing me.”
The Italian says that he is still holding out hope that he can play again in Turin. He will undergo more tests tomorrow.
“So right now I really hope that it's not that big, but it was just impossible to keep playing,” Berrettini said. “Obviously I was feeling it today again, I wasn't able to finish, but hopefully with my team and with the doctors tomorrow I'm going to do some checks and I really hope it's not going to be something that is going to make me not play the next two matches.”
If Berrettini cannot go, another Italian, Jannik Sinner would step in as the No.1 alternate.