The Italian tennis player withdrew from the Australian Open due to a new foot injury, but some very interesting background has been revealed regarding the last period
Matteo Berrettini hoped to be able to take part in the Australian Open 2024, but we all know what happened. After withdrawing from the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament, however, the first Major of the year also arrived. The Italian was supposed to challenge Stefanos Tsitsipas, but the latest training sessions did not produce the desired results. Thus, due to a problem with his right foot, the former world number 6 was removed from the entry list.
A few days after the announcement, manager Richard Evans clarified some aspects related to the decision made. “The medical team that supports Matteo Berrettini has decided to withdraw from the Australian Open so as not to put the rest of the season at risk. Matteo has trained very intensely in recent months and wanted to leave for Australia to be able to wait until the last moment before making a final decision,” he told.
Evans also focused on the plan for 2024: “Matteo plans to play a long season this year with many tournaments, competing now when he is not in top physical condition would be risky.”
No comments regarding the possibility of taking advantage of protected ranking. The 27 year old, in the event that he returns to the Indian Wells and Miami events, he could use it and thus be certain of entering the main draw, given the current ranking situation.
Matteo’s 2024 therefore began in the worst possible way. In recent days Matteo has once again been accused by haters, guilty according to them of not training as he should and of thinking too much about his relationship with Melissa Satta, a well-known Italian showgirl.
However, things seem to be different. According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Matteo is doing everything he can to get back on the pitch and has also tried in every way for Australia, together with his new coach, Francisco Roig.
On the other hand, the latter is used to training and giving his all in every training session and the revelation that emerged in the last few is very interesting. Roig advised Matteo to avoid the trip to Morocco with his Melissa and to do an extra training session in Monte Carlo, even on New Year’s Eve.
Matteo confidently accepted with the hope of participating in the Australian Open but the new foot problems complicated everything. Now head for the next tournaments, there is still a season to play and all the fans hope that Matteo can return to the field as soon as possible.
Regarding Berrettini’s choice to be in Australia, Paolo Bertolucci harshly criticized his countryman: “Matteo unfortunately is a special case, you can’t talk to him and everything is classified. He goes to the other side of the world already with physical problems and I’m very sorry about this, it must probably be said that he doesn’t have clear ideas. You can’t show up to a Grand Slam tournament like that.”