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Matteo Berretini
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Last year's finalist Matteo Berrettini tested positive for the corona virus at the Wimbledon lawn classic and has to withdraw before his first-round match against Chilean Cristian Garín.
He was "heartbroken," wrote the 26-year-old Italian tennis professional on Instagram on Tuesday.
He has had cold symptoms for a few days and took a test in the morning, which was positive: “I have no words to describe how extremely disappointed I am.
The dream for this year is over, but I will come back stronger.«
After the cancellation of the 2020 tournament and last year's pandemic edition, in which Berrettini lost to Novak Djoković in the final, the organizers had returned to normal.
With 42,000 visitors a day, the facility in south-west London is once again operating at full capacity.
Hardly anyone wears masks, tests are no longer necessary.
Berrettini, who was one of the title candidates after winning the preparatory tournaments in Stuttgart and Queens, is the second prominent corona case at the Grand Slam tournament after Croatian Marin Čilić.
Čilić trained on Thursday with defending champion Djokovic, who was number one in the field.
According to Djokovic, he is still unvaccinated.
Exclusions, surprises and injuries also stop top players
The circle of favorites in Wimbledon continues to shrink due to the end of the lawn specialist: The world number one Daniil Medvedev was not allowed to compete because of the exclusion of Russian athletes.
Germany's best tennis player Alexander Zverev, who is currently second in the world rankings, will miss the third Grand Slam tournament of the year due to a ligament injury sustained at the French Open.
The Pole Hubert Hurkacz, who failed last year only in the semifinals at Berrettini, surprisingly lost his opening game against the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
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