WIMBLEDON, England – Last year’s Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini withdrew from this year’s tournament on Tuesday after testing positive for coronavirus.
Berrettini’s announcement of his retirement came just two hours before he hit the court for his first-round match against Cristian Garin and was the last blow of a Grand Slam tournament that was already shorter than usual in stars and which has been stripped. ranking points for this edition for the men’s and women’s tours.
Berrettini, unbeaten on the turf this season and No. 8 seed at Wimbledon, was one of the top contenders for the men’s singles title. His retirement came a day after another player, Marin Cilic, Croatia’s No. 14 seed and 2017 Wimbledon finalist, also retired after testing positive.
The double withdrawal raised the possibility of an outbreak among the Wimbledon group of players, who are already missing several stars due to injury and a ban on the tournament of Russian and Belarusian players.
Berrettini and Cilic have been in contact over the past few weeks with many players. They both played on the grass tournament at the Queen’s Club in London which ended on 19 June, with Berrettini winning the individual title and Cilic reaching the semi-finals.
They both practiced at Wimbledon last week and used the locker room reserved for the top players. Berrettini trained on the central court on Thursday with Rafael Nadal, the number 2 seed. Cilic has trained on the central court with Novak Djokovic, the number 1 seed.
Djokovic, who has said he is not vaccinated against the coronavirus, won his first-round match on Monday, defeating South Korean Kwon Soon-woo in four sets. Djokovic did a particularly good service, but was far from at his best in other areas, seemingly low on energy at one point and crawled with water in a change. On Tuesday, Nadal had to play at Wimbledon for the first time since 2019, facing Francisco Cerundolo in the first round on the center court.
Wimbledon was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic and instituted strict restrictions last year, following the guidelines of the British government. Coronavirus testing was required for players, support team members, and tournament officials and employees. But with the loosening of government mandates this year, no proof is currently required at Wimbledon.
In a statement, the All England Club said its policy is “in line with agreed practice across the UK”.
The club said there were still some safety and health measures in place. “We have maintained improved hand cleaning and disinfection operations and offer full medical support to anyone who feels unwell,” the statement says.
No masks are required at the tournament, but the players’ medical team continues to use them for any consultation, and the club stressed that Wimbledon’s health and safety policies were under regular review and could be updated.
But the tournament clearly has a problem, which could increase.
In all, five of the top 20 men were unable to play at Wimbledon due to penalties, injuries or illness. Russia’s No. 1 Daniil Medvedev was blocked from competing after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Wimbledon’s decision to exclude the Russians and their Belarusian allies caused the tours to retaliate by eliminating points. tournament classification.
Second-placed Alexander Zverev is out for an extended period after breaking his right ankle ligaments at the French Open earlier this month.
There was also early unrest on Monday when Hubert Hurkacz, the No. 7 seed and a strong contender, was defeated in five sets in the first round by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Berrettini, a 6-foot-6 Italian, missed several months of action earlier this season due to surgery on his right hand, his main playing hand. But he returned for the turf season earlier this month and won consecutive titles at Stuttgart and Queen’s Club.
“I have a broken heart,” Berrettini said in a post on his Instagram account announcing his retirement. “I’ve had flu symptoms and I’ve been isolating myself for the last few days. While the symptoms weren’t severe, I decided it was important to do another test this morning to protect the health and safety of my fellow competitors and everyone who participate in the tournament “.
Berrettini, like many of the top players, was staying in private accommodation at Wimbledon instead of one of the player hotels in central London. He hadn’t been to the All England Club since Saturday and now, despite his great service and right, he will have to wait until next year.
“I have no words to describe the extreme disappointment I feel,” he said. “The dream is over for this year, but I will come back stronger.”
Cilic, 33, has also resurfaced, overwhelming Medvedev in the fourth round of the French Open on his way to the semifinals. With his long range, great service and flat base power, he is dangerous on the pitch and was, like Berrettini, one of the players to watch closely in the bottom half of the men’s box.
Cilic could have faced Nadal in the fourth round; Berrettini could have faced him in the semifinals. But now the Christmas path, if kept healthy, seems a little less daunting.