'I felt a minor complication': Matteo Berrettini explains feelings after retiring in tears from Rome Open because of injury

Italy’s Matteo Berrettini had a day to forget when he was forced to retire from the Rome Open. The 29-year-old faced Norway’s Casper Ruud in the round of 32 of the ongoing ATP 1000 event in the Italian capital. The game ended in the second set when Berrettini failed to continue playing because of a fitness concern.

The world number 30 was in tears as he was forced to say goodbye to the crowd sitting in the arena. The outcome was a difficult one for the Wimbledon 2021 runner-up, who has struggled with fitness concerns in the recent past. Most recently, he was forced to retire from the Madrid Open round-of-32 clash against Britain’s Jack Draper.

Berrettini later spoke to the media after the match and stated how difficult it was for him to continue playing through pain during the match. Berrettini, who was playing on his home turf in front of the home crowd, stated that his struggle started earlier in the day when he woke up and felt the pain, but decided to play the match.

"When I woke up today, I felt a minor complication,” he said. “However, I had to step in and play in the city and the tournament I love so much. Until ten minutes before the match, I thought I would not make it. However, I wanted to give it a go. I was surprised by how my body reacted at one point. Still, I felt another cramp in the closing stages of the opening set. That marked the end of the match, as I could not continue. Unfortunately, it ended up with another retirement. Rome was one of my goals, and I did not want to leave the court before the end. However, I knew I risked a familiar process of three months without playing and struggling with pain every time I would sneeze. I did not want to go through that again, and I hope I stopped in time.”