Matteo Berrettini to leave top 30 after Queen's Club Championships withdrawal
Injuries continue to haunt Matteo Berrettini, as he has now withdrawn from the 2023 Queen's Club Championships. As a result, the Italian will exit the top 30 in the ATP rankings.
Berrettini was set to begin his title defense at the Queen's Club Championship against Finland's Emil Rusuuvuori. His withdrawal from the tournament, therefore, means that he is losing the 500 points he gained last year. As a result, the Italian, currently ranked World No. 21 with 1,582 points, will drop out of the top 30 (No. 34 in the live rankings) in the ATP rankings.
Matteo Berrettini's withdrawal from Queen's, where he was a two-time defending champion, comes after he failed to defend his title at the Stuttgart Open a week earlier. In Germany, Berrettini was thrashed by fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the first round, 6-2, 6-1.
After his sub-par performance, the 27-year-old was seen crying while exiting the court and apologized to the crowd with clasped hands.
🩹 Matteo Berrettini left the court in tears today after his loss to Lorenzo Sonego in Stuttgart
This was his first match back in 2 months
The crowd applauded him as he left the court & tried to lift his spirits in whatever way they could ❤️🩹
https://t.co/CuQ0dmGOMe
After his exit in Stuttgart, Berrettini addressed his shortcomings and admitted that he needed more time to return to his best level and compete against top players.
"I have worked extremely hard to recover from my latest injury, and to not have the dream return like I had last year is difficult to process. But I need to be realistic, my best level will take time and matches. I am putting in the work and the results will follow," Berrettini wrote on social media.
The decision to not compete in Queen's puts doubts on Berrettini's chances of being seeded at the Wimbledon Championships. The Italian has tasted success at the grass-court Major previously, as he made his maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2021 (lost to Novak Djokovic).
A look into Matteo Berrettini's performances in 2023
Matteo Berrettini began his 2023 campaign at the Australian Open as the No. 13 seed. However, his stay in Melbourne was cut short by Andy Murray in the first round. After the Australian Open, the Italian was out of action for nearly two months due to injuries and returned at the Mexican Open.
Berrettini managed to muster two wins in Mexico before withdrawing from his quarterfinal match against Holger Rune. Consecutive first-round losses at Indian Wells and Miami followed, after which Berrettini finally played some good tennis to make it into the third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters. But, he again withdrew before his match against Rune due to injury.
Berrettini then decided to skip the rest of the clay-court tournaments, including his home event, the Italian Open, and the French Open, to better prepare for the grass season. However, seeing his current form, it looks like the Italian has a long way to go before finding his best form.