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Matteo Berrettini, injury and tears: bitter night in Turin

“The worst night of my life.” Matteo Berrettini it doesn’t go around so much. Physically it is male, morally it is destroyed. That dream he had pampered for a year, suddenly turned into a nightmare: one fanned straight, the pain in the abdomen, then the raised arm. “I heard a stick “ he says to the physiotherapist, lying on the ground for a quick massage. The camera tightens on the Roman champion’s shining eyes, who shakes his head.

«I can not do itHe seems to murmur to himself. But the audience of Torino urges him to get up, dedicates him the warmest of applause, he tries to return to the field: no way. Raise the white flag at the beginning of second set, after an hour and twenty of fighting on par with Alexander Zverev, number three in the world. Which immediately crosses the net for hug him and cheer him up: “We are all athletes who give their all to win,” wrote the German on social media.

“But, at the end of the day, the most important thing is shake hands in good health and prepare for the next challenge. Unfortunately today it didn’t happen that way and I can’t even imagine what do you feel right now, ”he added, addressing his opponent. “All I can tell you is to keep your head up, I am sure you will come back ». Yes but when? Today Matteo will undergo the resonance to understand the extent of an injury that, unfortunately, he already knows.

At the beginning of the season, in fact, he was forced to retire from the Australian Open just for a abdominal problem, which kept him away from the fields for a long time. “The place was similar, but the pain is inferiorHe said himself, holding back tears under the visor of the hat. “I have scared, I could not continue. I hope the exams can reassure me, which is nothing serious because I don’t want to miss this atmosphere».

Yes, why le Finals, in tennis, they are not a simple tournament: represent the crowning of a season, they land there the eight tennis players who have achieved the best results. And playing them at home is the best for a player: «Retire in this atmosphere it kills me, ”added Berrettini, who was also consoled by Novak Djokovic. With the other blue Jannik Sinner which remains at the window as first reserve on the board, ready to take over in case of forfeit.

“It was one of the more beautiful evenings on the field », Matteo concluded,« which in a moment has transformed itself, sportingly speaking, into the worst night of my life”.

Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you:

– Matteo Berrettini, not just tennis: Italian pride at the 2021 Met Gala

– Goodbye Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic’s tears

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