Matteo Berrettini withdrew from the tournament. More ominous news ahead of the Miami Open.
This makes the Italian national to become the 33rd male player in the top 100 to withdraw from the Miami Open in the 2021 season.
Previously, the 24-year-old injured her stomach in the third round of the 2021 Australian Open against Russian national Karen Khachanov. As a result, although he won the match against Khachanov, he decided to withdraw from the fourth round against the Greek national Stefanos Tsitsipas.
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It seems that the injury under the rib of the Italian national has not fully recovered and he has opted to extend his recovery period. He became the fifth top 10 player to withdraw from the Miami Open and host, Denis Kudla, was selected to replace him in the main draw.
Before Berrettini, the Big Three, namely Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic had previously also chosen to withdraw from the Miami Open. For the first time, the tournament in Miami will be the first Masters 1000 tournament since the 2004 Paris Masters season without the Top Three present.
Two players who have bagged 20 Grand Slam titles, Federer and Nadal want to prioritize Grand Slams. Meanwhile, the world number 1. Djokovic wants to spend more time with his family.
In addition, the champion of the 2020 US Open season, Dominic Thiem, also discouraged his participation in the tournament. Without a doubt, he has started a rough 2021 season and can use this moment as time to focus ahead of the clay-court season.
It is true, now is a difficult time with the COVID-19 pandemic still rampant. However, since the tennis tournament kicked off in the 2021 season, the Miami Open has been hit hard with a long list of tennis players’ retirement.
Despite so many retirement, there is still a lot to look forward to from the first Masters 1000 tournament of the season. This is an opportunity for the next generation of tennis players to make history.
Fans’ eyes will be on the Australian Open runner-up for the 2021 season, Daniil Medvedev and the three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray. In addition, there are Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Diego Schwartzman who are favorites to win the Miami Open title this season.
