World No. 30 Matteo Berrettini shared his feelings after being forced to retire from his third-round match at the Rome Masters against Casper Ruud while trailing 5/7, 0/2. The Italian was visibly emotional and was seen crying as he left the court.
“Perhaps already yesterday morning I felt that the problem was more serious than I thought,” Berrettini noted during his press conference. “But my strong attachment to Rome, my love for this tournament, my brother, and tennis in general pushed me to try and play it out.”
He revealed the extent of his struggle even before stepping onto the court for the match:
“Today, literally ten minutes before going on court, I was still doubting if I could play, but I decided to give myself a chance. Initially, my body reacted better than I expected, but towards the end of the first set, I felt a strong, sharp pain again. From that moment, it was impossible to continue, and unfortunately, I had to retire again.”
Berrettini emphasized the difficulty of the decision, especially in his home city, but highlighted the importance of preventing a more severe, long-term injury:
“Playing in Rome was one of my main goals, and I really didn`t want to give up,” he added. “But I remember how this can turn out: months out of the game, pain from the slightest movement. I didn`t want a repeat of that. I very much hope that this time I stopped in time.”
Rupert Hartwell