World No. 30 Matteo Berrettini shared his feelings after withdrawing from his match in Rome. The Italian player was unable to finish his third-round `Masters` encounter against Casper Ruud, retiring with the score at 5/7, 0/2. He was seen crying as he left the court.
“Probably yesterday, when I woke up, I realized things were a bit more complicated than they seemed,” Berrettini said at his press conference. “But the love I have for this city, for this tournament, for my brother, for this sport, pushed me to try and go all the way.” (Berrettini was born in Rome and played doubles with his brother at this Masters).
“Today, ten minutes before the start, I thought I wouldn`t be able to step onto the court, but I still decided to try. I was surprised by how my body reacted up to a certain point – but then I felt sharp pain again. This was closer to the end of the first set – and from that moment, I couldn`t stay in the game anymore. Unfortunately, I had to retire again.”
“Rome was one of my goals, and I didn`t want to give up. But I know how it ends: then you need three months not to play, every cough causes pain… I didn`t want that to happen again. I think and hope I managed to stop in time.”
Marcus Blakely 
Gilbert Pendleton