Berrettini Withdraws From Wimbledon
Berrettini Withdraws From Wimbledon. Matteo Berrettini said on Tuesday that he was dropping out of Wimbledon because he tested positive for COVID-19. The news of Berrettini’s withdrawal came about two hours before his first-round match against Cristian Garin. It was another blow to a Grand Slam tournament that already had fewer stars than usual because the men’s and women’s tennis tours had taken ranking points away for this year’s tournament.
Berrettini’s Recent Games
Berrettini was one of the top contenders for the men’s singles title. He was undefeated on grass courts this season and was the No. 8 seed at Wimbledon. Marin Cilic, the No. 14 seed from Croatia and a finalist at Wimbledon in 2017, also withdrew the next day after testing positive. After having surgery on his hand at the end of March, Berrettini didn’t play for three months. However, since he got back on Tour three weeks ago, the Italian has been unbeatable. First, he won the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart and then kept the Cinch Championships title at The Queen’s Club in London. These wins gave him a lot of confidence that he could do well again at SW19.
Berrettini’s Replacement
Berrettini will be replaced in the draw by the Swede Elias Ymer, who will play Cristian Garin in the first round of the grass-court Grand Slam in London. The tournament posted a message on Twitter showing support for the Italian and saying that he would be missed.
COVID and Wimbledon
Because of the pandemic, Wimbledon was canceled in 2020, and last year it had to follow strict rules set by the British government. As a result, coronavirus tests had to be done on all of the players, support team members, tournament staff, and officials. But this year, government rules have been changed to make testing at Wimbledon unnecessary. Masks are not required at the tournament, and you won’t see many people wearing them. But the player medical team keeps wearing them to all meetings. The team of people who are there to string rackets also wears them. The club stressed that the health and safety policies at Wimbledon were looked at often and could be changed.