Rome, Matteo Berrettini retires: “I put my heart aside.”
Matteo Berrettini withdraws from the Internazionali d'Italia
On the eve of his debut in the derby with Stefano Napolitano, Matteo Berrettini announced his withdrawal from the Internazionali d'Italia. In his place is the U.S. lucky loser J.J. Wolf, number 101 in the ATP rankings, who will therefore face Napolitano in the first round.
“In the end it felt right to talk to you looking at you. I’m not ready to compete and I’m in danger of getting hurt and standing still again, which è the last thing I want,” he stressed in the press conference. “I put my heart aside to do what è right. It felt right to say it this way è. Hopefully, 2025 will be the’good year".
"In my head è it is difficult to say, I hope to come back before Paris or for Paris,” added the Roman tennis player.” I need to come back with rhythm, with the steps that è it is right to take when you are stopped for a while. I am not far away, but neither am I ready for tomorrow".
"Fortunately, it isn't an injury, it isn't an injury. It's the feeling that something might happen because I took something that debilitated me so much. With the medication I took and what I did to recover, I don't feel ready to play three hours tomorrow and another three after two days".
I want to play this tournament to be competitive and feel good, if I can’t I can’t è it’s right for me to play, because of my history and what I’m trying to fight. In a little while I will be back on the court, there's just a lot of sadness because this is the tournament that made me choose this profession and in the last three years someone took it away from me,'quot; concluded Berrettini.
