Italian Matteo Berrettini has been forced to withdraw from the ongoing ATP World Tour Finals due to an abdominal injury. Berrettini, who announced his withdrawal on Tuesday, expressed his regret at withdrawing from the event, which was taking place in his home country, Italy.

Taking to his Instagram, he said: “My finals end here, I’m destroyed, I never thought I’d have to give up the most important tennis event ever held in Italy in this way. The truth is that as much as I wanted to play in front of you once again, I felt and therefore decided that my body is not ready to face the challenges that lie ahead.”

On Sunday, Berrettini had to retire from his first group-stage match against Alexander Zverev in the second set. It was quite an emotional moment for the 25-year-old as he broke down in tears. He was then set to face Hubert Hurkacz on Tuesday evening before his withdrawal. His fellow countryman, Jannik Sinner has now replaced him at the event. Sinner then went ahead to beat Hurkacz 6-2 6-2.

Berrettini’s withdrawal now sends defending champion Danill Medvedev straight to the semi-finals of the event. Medvedev had beaten Zverev 6-3 6-7 7-6 on Tuesday but would now be heading straight to the semis.

World number one, Novak Djokovic, who was recently crowned for ending as World number one for the seventh straight year, defeated Casper Ruud in his opening match on Monday. Djokovic needed barely an hour to beat the Norwegian 7-6 6-2. From the looks of it, we just might see Djokovic and Medvedev at the final. If that happens, that would be the third time this is happening this year. But it is still too early to call. Djokovic is currently aiming to tie Roger Federer’s record of six ATP World Tour titles.

Written by: Leon Osamor