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Returning Wimbledon Finalist Matteo Berrettini Tests Positive For COVID, Won’t Be Able To Make Run At 2022 Crown

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  • Matteo Berrettini is one of the top men’s tennis players on the planet.
  • The Italian made the finals of Wimbledon in 2021, eventually falling to Novak Djokovic.
  • After testing positive for COVID, Berrettini won’t be able to make a run at the title in 2022.

Italy’s Matteo Berrettini had high hopes for Wimbledon in 2022.

The world’s No. 11 player reached the finals in 2021 before falling to Novak Djokovic in four sets: 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. But his run this time around is over before it even started.

Berrettini tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and was forced to withdraw from the tournament.

This comes after he won his second straight Queen’s Club Championship and appeared to be entering Wimbledon on a high note. Berrettini has shown strong form throughout the new season. He reached the semifinals in the first major of the year, the Australian Open, before falling to eventual champ Rafael Nadal.

Many considered the 26-year-old the favorite after winning his last two grass court championships, and Berrettini wasn’t backing down from those expectations.

“I don’t feel like I’m the favorite but I know I can do it, I can’t pull the wool over people’s eyes. My aim is to have a big tournament at Wimbledon and I hope it will be two intense weeks,” he said after his most recent victory.

Tennis fans were devastated when they woke up to the news of Berrettini’s absence.

https://twitter.com/fhronicles/status/1541733591205412864?s=20&t=L9Zv1maRblL1DIK5GUdU7w

Berrettini joins world No. 17 Marin Cilic, who reached the finals at Wimbledon in 2017, as players to pull out due to COVID. Both moves open up the draw for Nadal, who hasn’t won Wimbledon since 2010.