The covid threatens Wimbledon: Berrettini and Cilic, possible rivals of Nadal, fall

The queues have returned this 2022 to the All England Club.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
28 June 2022 Tuesday 06:57
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The covid threatens Wimbledon: Berrettini and Cilic, possible rivals of Nadal, fall

The queues have returned this 2022 to the All England Club. After three years without the crowded stands -in 2020 the tournament was canceled and in 2021 there were capacity restrictions-, Wimbledon wanted to resemble the pre-pandemic editions, but it will not be like that. On the second day in London, the covid-19 has already made an appearance, unless it is known, on the slopes.

Two tennis players have already announced that they will not be able to compete in the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. And they are not two ordinary tennis players. Matteo Berrettini (no. 11) and Marin Cilic (no. 17) announced this Tuesday through social networks that they will be discharged for having contracted the disease.

The Italian, a Wimbledon finalist last year, was one of the big favorites. He was the fittest tennis player in the short and demanding season on grass, with plenty of victories (9) -he won the Stuttgart and Queen's titles, with a balance of 31 wins and 3 losses on the surface since 2019-. Sadly but in an act of responsibility, he confirmed his absence.

"I have had flu symptoms and have isolated myself for the last few days. Although the symptoms have not been serious, I have decided that it was important to take a test this morning to protect the health of the rest of the competitors and the people involved in the tournament" , the publication begins. "I have no words to describe how disappointed I am. The dream is over for this year, but I will come back stronger," she adds.

Hours before Berrettini's announcement, Marin Cilic did the same on Monday night. The Croatian, semifinalist this year at Roland Garros and winner of the 2014 US Open, will not be able to take the court this Tuesday against Mackenzie McDonald.

Interestingly, both Berrettini and Cilic were on the side of Rafael Nadal's draw, so the positive of both paves a very hard road a priori. If the forecasts were fulfilled, the Croatian should be the rival in the round of 16 and the transalpine, in the semifinals.

At a time when the covid is in the expansion phase, it will be necessary to see how it affects the rest of the participants, since it would not be surprising if new cases appeared in the next few hours. Berrettini trained with Nadal at Wimbledon on June 23, which could endanger the Spaniard, who debuts this Tuesday against Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo. Cilic also practiced with Novak Djokovic on the same day.

The Serb dropped a set on Monday in his London tournament debut against South Korea's Soon-Woo Kwon. On the first day Carlos Alcaraz also played, who could not claim victory until the fifth set. It cost him horrors to overcome the German Jan-Lennard Struff.