Injury for Berrettini, Sinner and Paolini advance to the Italian Open

by Massimo SelleriTears for Matteo Berrettini who during the match against Casper Ruud was forced to retire due to a problem with his abdominal muscles. An injury that had already given the first signs on Sunday, when the Roman player had taken to the field in the doubles with his brother Jacopo. At the end of the match, the Dane dedicated a thought to him in the traditional writing on the winner's glass: "Matteo get well soon". A concern shared by the Italian who declared: "I hope I stopped in time".

Instead, he accesses the eighth finals of these Internationals of Italy Jannik Sinner, as it reaches the quarter-finals Jasmin Paolini. More than from a technical point of view, Sinner's match deserves to be told for a gesture that certifies his human depth. During the second set his opponent, the Dutchman Jesper de Jong, falls and injures his right wrist. The first to run across the court to check on his colleague's health is Jannik, who immediately offers him a towel to clean himself of the dirt. While he is being examined and treated by the physiotherapist, the world number one brings him his racket and then returns to his box and waits. The match ends there because de Jong will no longer be able to do anything right (6-4 6-2), but the moral of the story remains: sport has a lot to learn from someone like him, even though there are those who still see something "rotten" in his negotiated disqualification. On the court, however, the world number one is still far from his best condition.

Today, after 15 pm, he will face Francisco Cerundolo who eliminated him here in Rome in 2023. "It won't be easy for me - concludes Sinner - He had a crazy season and had a great week before coming here to Rome. I have to raise my level if I want to play on par with him, but these are the challenges I need to understand the level I'm at".

Strong and determined on the court, the tennis player confirms his not very bold character away from the net - "Playing with the Pope? Why do you have to put me in difficulty" - the South Tyrolean replied to those who asked him for a comment on the joking words of Pope Leo XIV about his passion for tennis and the fact that he would play a match with a professional player "but not with Sinner".

Paolini beats Jelena Ostapenko (7-5 ​​6-2) and today she will meet Diana Shnaider (13pm). Also on the court is Lorenzo Musetti against Daniil Medvedev, with a ticket to the quarterfinals at stake.