The flood of rejections continues: Matteo Berrettini also cancels for Miami
The flood of cancellations for the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami continues. With Matteo Berrettini , the fifth man from the top 10 will be missing in the United States.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Mar 24, 2021, 01:07 am

In this special tennis year 2021, not much will be remembered of the golden times of the American Sunshine Double. This fact originated in the cancellation of the popular and prestigious ATP Masters 1000 event from Indian Wells. Ironically, the tournament that started the multi-month break in the ATP tour last year.
Now the Miami event is also suffering from the situation around COVID-19. The willingness of many players to make the long journey to the USA just to serve at a single tournament is evidently limited in times like these. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Roger Federer - the list of extremely prominent cancellations for the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami is a long one.
Berrettini stopped suddenly in Australia
And it gets longer. As it became known on Tuesday, Matteo Berrettini will also refrain from traveling to the USA and thus further extend his break after the Australian Open. The Italian had presented himself in great shape down under, playing Dominic Thiem almost against the wall at the ATP Cup in the run-up to the major tournament. Until the round of 16. In this one, Berrettini should actually have dealt with Stefanos Tsitsipas, but the tenth in the world rankings had to withdraw due to injury.
An injury that has accompanied the Roman ever since. Berrettini has not played a single match since the Australian Open. A first big successful run of the 24-year-old at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami will also be a long time coming. Berrettini only had one appearance in the main field of the tournament, namely in 2019 when Hubert Hurkacz failed to finish tenth in the world rankings in round one.
Medvedev top favorite in Miami
With Matteo Berrettini's cancellation, a total of five out of ten top 10 players will certainly be missing from the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami. Another curiosity in 2021: For the first time since 2004, no representative of the "Big Three" will take part in a Masters event. This makes Daniil Medvedev the hottest contender for the title in Miami. His compatriot Andrey Rublev, the German Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece can also expect good chances.