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Matteo Berrettini's 2021 ATP Finals campaign got off to a disappointing start. The Italian had to retire from his opening round-robin match against Alexander Zverev after sustaining an injury.
Initially, it appeared as though the injury could be serious enough to force him out of the event entirely. However, in a recent video posted by the ATP on social media, Berrettini was seen practicing ahead of his next match against Hubert Hurkacz.
Whether Berrettini is fully fit or he's simply testing his body to see if it's good enough to hold up remains to be seen. The Italian is scheduled to take the court against Hubert Hurkacz in a few hours' time. If Berrettini pulls out of the contest, compatriot Jannik Sinner, the first alternate at the ATP Finals, will take his place.
Matteo Berrettini left heartbroken after withdrawal
The ATP Finals are being hosted in Turin, Italy for the first time this year. The season-ending event had previously been played in London for more than a decade.
Matteo Berrettini was looking forward to putting on a show in front of his home crowd, and he was obviously gutted after being forced to retire from his opening match.
During his post-match press conference, Berrettini revealed that the atmosphere in the arena was the best he had ever felt, and that being unable to finish the match in front of his home crowd was "killing him."
"The atmosphere was one of the best I ever felt in my life. That's why I probably feel so bad right now. The thought of not finishing the match, I wasn't able to finish the match, it's killing me."
At the time, Berrettini said he planned to do a quick assessment of the injury to gauge whether he would be able to play his next match.
"I really hope it's nothing bad, but first I have to figure out what it is and then, you know, mentally, if I see that it's nothing really big then maybe I can play. But like this it was impossible. Obviously, it's killing me, it's probably the worst day I've had on a tennis court in my life."
