Picture Credit: X
Italy’s Matteo Berrettini on Sunday, 14th January pulled out of the Australian Open 2024. The 27-year-old struggled with injury concerns in his right foot, leading to his decision to pull out of the first Grand Slam of the year. With Berrettini missing the ongoing Australian Open, the Italian has now missed four out of the last eight Grand Slams.
The 27-year-old was set to face World No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the AO2024 at the Rod Laver Arena on Monday, January 15, but was forced to withdraw with the return of his foot injury. “Matteo Berrettini has withdrawn from #AusOpen with a right foot injury. He will be replaced in the draw by Zizou Bergs. Wishing you a quick recovery @MattBerrettini,” the Australian Open official handle wrote on X.
The Italian star player suffered an ankle injury while playing against Arthur Rinderknech in the second round of the US Open last year. However, he was set to make a return at the AO2024 with a dropped ranking of 125.
Moreover, Belgium’s Zizou Bergs has been named Berrettini’s replacement. The Belgian, who reached a career-high ATP double ranking of World No. 268 in November 2023 lost the opening round to Laslo Djere in the 2023 Australian Open first round match. His most noticeable achievement came hiss entry at the Wimbledon after winning the Ilkley trophy 2022.
