Matteo Berrettini played his second-round match in the US Open against Arthur Rinderknech. Berrettini hoped for a lead in the second set after losing the first set, 4-6. But the Italian fell to the ground in a flash of a moment and writhed in agony. The reason? He twisted his ankle, and after a few seconds of silence, Berrettini’s scream filled Court 5 as the pain hit him hard. The medical team and his opponent rushed to the aid of the former World No.6. The Italian limped his way to the bench, after which he was forced to take to the wheelchair.
Needless to say, he retired from the tournament with his Grand Slam run this year coming to a melancholic end. The tennis community and fans lamented that Berrettini seems to be permanently on the outs with lady luck’s favor.
Fans were devastated seeing Matteo Berrettini in a wheelchair
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Injuries plagued the Italian player the whole season, and he even missed the French Open. The 27-year-old reached only the 4th round at the Wimbledon Championships, marking his best Grand Slam result this year. When he entered Flushing Meadows, hopes ran high as Berrettini was making progress. But hopes soon turned to ashes for both Berrettini and his fans. A Spanish tennis news account, ‘Tiempo de Time, ‘ which translates to ‘The Tennis Time’, shared the gloomy update. The tweet read, “This is how Matteo Berrettini retired from the field. Breaks our hearts” (Google translated).
Así se retiró de la cancha Matteo Berrettini.
Nos rompe el corazón 💔https://t.co/LeM1FDAGi2
— Tiempo De Tenis (@Tiempodetenis1) August 31, 2023
Berrettini’s painful retirement from the last Slam of the year seemed worse than a straight-up loss to the fans. Netizens, too, suffered with him and expressed their grief on Twitter as they were heartbroken.
A New York Times bestselling author tweeted how disappointing it is to see such an end for the Italian at the US Open.
Berrettini, man, no way to end anyone's #USOpen https://t.co/G1dKst7twV
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) August 31, 2023
A fan expressed his emotions by tweeting,
“This is not a good morning” in Spanish.ya no hay buenos días 🙁 @victorinocruz_ https://t.co/3YoaZMGY27
— Pabloromers (@PabloRomers10) August 31, 2023
A Roger Federer fan account tweeted in Spanish, “How frustrating to see how injuries have taken over him in recent times.”
Que frustrante ver como las lesiones se han ido apoderando de él en el último tiempo😭😭😭 https://t.co/enFTQvmXtG
— BASS FEDERER 🐻 (@_bass10) August 31, 2023
Another user was reminded of all the previous injuries of the Italian as the tweet expressed how bad luck litters Berrettini’s path.
He just can’t catch a break.. 😢 https://t.co/Z2bdVCREPU
— Lisa #RForever ❤️ (@lisa_wawrinka) August 31, 2023
A tennis fan could not believe her eyes as Berrettini’s pain left her, too, screaming!
NOOOOO!! https://t.co/ZtPf0N6aPC
— Natalia Baquero (@NataliaBaquero) August 31, 2023
Another Spanish user expressed sadness as she wrote, “horrible sprained ankle.”
horrible torcedura de tobillo
— Moni Aguirre 🇦🇷 ⭐⭐⭐ (@m0n0na) August 31, 2023
Another Spaniard expressed anguish at how the team reacted to Berrettini’s situation. Her tweet meant, “Hell, they should protect him immediately. What a way to put it in that situation.”
Carajo, lo debieron proteger de inmediato. Qué manera de exponerlo en esa situación.
— F. (@fioteca) August 31, 2023
Another fan was moved to tears as the Italian succumbed to pain.
https://twitter.com/Mcaroll8/status/1697340172646400134?s=20
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Another Spanish user wished him a speedy recovery as she recalled the injuries that plagued the Italian. She said, “A pity, after all the time it has taken him to recover from his old injury … I hope it’s not too serious and he recovers soon!!” (Google translated.)
Una pena, después de todo el tiempo que le ha llevado recuperarse de su antigua lesión 🥺…espero no sea muy grave y se recupere pronto!! 🙌🏻💜
— Lilu (@Liluuu_26) August 31, 2023
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The World No. 36 is slated to lose his ranking due to this horrible fall and tournament exit. He will no longer in the Top 50 players in live ATP rankings. To make matters worse, before the unfortunate incident, a hopeful Berrettini had his schedule planned out. He was set to participate in the ATP 500 China Open in Beijing, which starts on the 28th of September. But given the intensity of pain he was in, it might just be implausible for Berrettini to return this season.
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