Matteo Berrettini, last year’s runner-up at Wimbledon, pulled out of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament hours before he was scheduled to play his first-round match on Tuesday, said he tested positive for COVID-19.
Eighth-seeded Berrettini became the second high-profile player to be out of the men’s draw within the first two days due to illness caused by the coronavirus, joining 2014 US Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic, who was seeded 14th Was.
Players for the tournament are not required to be tested for COVID-19 this year; Both Berrettini and Cilic said they did the test because they wanted to after they had symptoms.
An All England Club spokesperson did not respond to questions about the level of concern about COVID-19 at the event or whether additional measures were being taken to prevent the spread of the virus, but in an email Said organizers are working with the British Public Health Agency and local authorities.
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After being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, then setting up a bubble-type environment and restricting attendance in 2021, to try to stop the spread of COVID-19, Wimbledon returns to normal in every way Gone, without the need to wear masks, the entire crowd and famous queue back in action.
“For the most part, I think it’s okay that the players are doing it themselves. I mean, I think that’s the rule in the government now: if you feel symptoms, get tested. If I have any That’s what I’ll do if I feel COVID symptoms; I’ll get tested,” said 18-year-old American Coco Gauff, runner-up at this month’s French Open.
“I think it’s also cool now that we don’t have to test every day or every other day. I don’t want to go back to that. Not to be afraid of testing, but it’s also a hassle,” Gauff said. , which won its first round match on Tuesday. “With vaccines and everything, we know the viral load is low and it’s very hard to transfer if you’re a vaccinated person.”
Berrettini spent time on center court last week practicing with 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal and also crossed paths with Novak Djokovic, who defeated Berrettini in last year’s final at Wimbledon.
Nadal didn’t look too worried after winning his first round match on Tuesday.
“When you’re out there, when you’re practicing, it’s hard to have close contact. … At the moment I feel great, no problem,” Nadal said. “The main thing is that I Very sorry for him because he was playing brilliantly.”
The All England Club announced Berrettini’s return, and posted about it on Instagram, saying he was “heartbroken” and was isolating “the past few days” after experiencing flu-like symptoms.
The men’s category is already missing six of the top 11 in the ATP rankings: No. 1 Daniil Medvedev (banned by Russia), No. 2 Alexander Zverev (ankle surgery), No. 8 Andrey Rublev (banned by Russia), No. No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliciam (lost on Tuesday), No. 10 Hubert Herkaz (lost on Monday) and No. 11 Berrettini.
Berrettini had to play 44th-ranked Cristian Garin in the first round on Tuesday. Beritini was replaced in the field by Elias Yamer, who lost in qualifying and then lost to Garin.
Both were considered a title contender for Wimbledon, before losing to Djokovic in their first Grand Slam final at the All England Club last year – and because of their recent form on the grass.
“I mean, he’s definitely one of the top two, three players in the world on grass in the last three years. I mean, his results are testament to him,” Djokovic said of Berrettini on Monday. Perhaps, this is his favorite surface. This is the most suitable surface for their game. So there is a lot of hope from his side that he should go a long way in this tournament.”
The 26-year-old Berrettini, who relies on big serves and big forehands, won two tuneup tournaments on the surface this month, 9-0 at the Queen’s Club in Stuttgart, Germany and London.
Thus he got back into action after being sidelined from the march due to an operation on his right hand.
Overall, since the start of 2019, he is 32-3 on grass. Two of those three losses were against six-time Wimbledon winner Djokovic and eight-time champion Roger Federer.
“I don’t have words to describe the extreme disappointment I have felt,” he said. “The dream is over for this year, but I will come back stronger.”
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