Berrettini, what has happened in the last few hours has the unbelievable: the Roman won’t be there this time either.
Partly out of superstition, partly because we were waiting for him to make it official, the fact is that fans waited to cheer. And, in hindsight, we must admit that they got it right. Matteo Berrettini’s return to the court seemed – once again – imminent. And once again, as scripted, supporters of the Capitoline hammer were left high and dry.
The Roman will not return, as had been rumored in recent hours, at the Atp 250 in Marseille. The Wimbledon 2021 finalist was rumored to have received one of the 3 wild cards up for grabs. And that it was to the credit of Jannik Sinner, who retired from the competition after his victory at the Australian Open, that a spot had opened up for the former Italian No. 1. As it turned out, however, the transalpine press had taken the wrong end of the stick. The reports from France, more precisely from the newspaper La Provence, would not, in fact, correspond to the truth.
According to Tuttosport reports, it was never in Berrettini’s plans to play at the Atp in Marseille. It would not even exist, even, any wild card intended for him. This was a hoax. Or, if not a hoax, at least a misunderstanding. While it is official, on the other hand, according to the words of the Italian sports daily, that Matteo would have confirmed his non-participation in the event that will be played across the Alps.
Berrettini, skips Marseille: chaos in France
Nothing to do, then. The time has not yet come for the return to the court of the unfortunate Italian, stopped on the eve of the Australian Open by a foot that is still sore
Berrettini has not played since August 31, and the most popular assumption at the moment is that he will resort to protected ranking, just as his colleague Rafael Nadal did. However, to do so, even if he were to have theoretically recovered, six months would have to have passed since his last match. So, calendar in hand, to benefit from this measure he will be able to return to play after the first week of March. At this point, she could likely reappear in conjunction with the Indian Wells tournament.
Moving up the rankings, even once he gets this form of “protection,” will still not be easy. It will take a while for Matteo to get his rhythm back, but if there is one thing he has never lacked that is, without a shadow of a doubt, willpower. And if it has failed in the meantime, that will be the first thing to work on.