Wimbledon woke up this Tuesday just as he went to bed: with a start.
At night, before the opening day closed, the organization of the great British announced the withdrawal of Marin Cilic after the Croatian tested positive for covid, and only an hour later, the tournament confirmed the withdrawal of Matteo Berrettini for the same reason.
That is to say, Rafael Nadal's theoretical roadmap is cleared, since the names of both were on the horizon of the Spanish tennis player, who will debut today (around 4:00 p.m., Movistar Deportes) against the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo.
“I have had some flu symptoms and have isolated myself in the last few days.
Although they were not serious, I have decided to take a test this morning to protect the health of the rest of the players and the tournament staff.
I have no words to describe how disappointed I feel.
This year's dream has ended, but I will come back stronger”, said the Italian, who was among the list of favourites.
Before landing in the English
major
, Berrettini had won in Stuttgart and Queen's, and last year he reached the Wimbledon final.
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A post shared by Matteo Berrettini (@matberrettini)
The Roman player, 26 years old and seeded eighth, appeared as a full-fledged threat to Nadal, with whom he met on the 23rd on the grass of the central in an unusual episode, since he had never trained before in La Cathedral before the start of the tournament.
Since 2019, his record on the green is 31 wins and only 3 losses, and he has established himself as a tough competitor on the big stages.
On paper, and always in hypothetical terms, he could have been the Spaniard's rival in the semifinals.
A priori
, this Tuesday he should have measured himself with the Chilean Cristian Garín.
Protocol Review
His departure joins that of Cilic, whose positive was announced the night before.
The Croatian, 33 years old and 17th in the world, could also have crossed paths with Nadal;
in his case, in the round of 16.
US Open champion in 2014 and Wimbledon finalist in 2017, his serve and his skill on the surface also meant a potential danger for the Spaniard, who aspires in London to conquer his 23rd major.
His withdrawal also caused concern, since a few days before he had shared training with the Serbian Novak Djokovic.
Given this situation, Wimbledon will review the protocol against covid-19, according to
The Guardian
newspaper .
In the 2021 edition, the London tournament implemented a series of preventive measures among the players and the rest of the professionals, who this year have absolute freedom.
Now, explains the aforementioned media, it will reinforce "cleaning and disinfection work, following the guidelines of the United Kingdom Public Health Security Agency and our Local Authority."
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