2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini out with COVID-19

Matteo Berrettini of Italy acknowledges the crowd after defeating Tommy Paul of the United States in their quarterfinal tennis match at the Queen's Club Championships in London, Friday, June 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

WIMBLEDON, England -

Matteo Berrettini, last year's runner-up at Wimbledon, dropped out of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament hours before he was scheduled to play his first-round match Tuesday, saying that he tested positive for COVID-19.

The All England Club announced Berrettini's withdrawal, and he posted about it on Instagram, saying that he was “heartbroken” and has been isolating “the last few days” after experiencing flu-like symptoms.

He's the second high-profile player to pull out of the draw within the first two days because of the illness caused by the coronavirus, joining 2014 U.S. Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic, who was seeded 14th. The bracket already is without five of the top 11 in the ATP rankings: No. 1 Daniil Medvedev ( ban on Russians ), No. 2 Alexander Zverev (ankle surgery), No. 8 Andrey Rublev (ban on Russians), No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz (lost Monday) and No. 11 Berrettini.

An All England Club spokesperson did not respond to a question about what the level of concern is about COVID-19 at the event, but did say in an email that organizers have been working with the British public health agency and local authorities.

“We have maintained enhanced cleaning and hand sanitizing operations, and offer full medical support for anyone feeling unwell. We are following U.K. guidance around assessment and isolation of any potential infectious disease,” the statement said. “Our player medical team also continue to wear face masks for any consultation.”

After being cancelled in 2020 because of the pandemic, then setting up a bubble-type environment and restricting attendance in 2021 to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Wimbledon has returned to normal in every way, with no mask-wearing requirement, full crowds and the famous Queue back in action.

“Despite symptoms not being severe, I decided it was important to take another test this morning to protect the health and safety of my fellow competitors and everyone else involved in the tournament,” Berrettini wrote in his post, which included a black-and-white photo of him hitting a serve at Wimbledon.

“I have no words to describe the extreme disappointment I feel,” he said. “The dream is over for this year, but I will be back stronger.”

The eighth-seeded Italian spent time practicing with Rafael Nadal on Centre Court last week and also crossed paths with Novak Djokovic there.

Berrettini was supposed to play 44th-ranked Cristian Garin in the first round on Tuesday. Berrettini was replaced in the field by Elias Ymer, who lost in qualifying but now will take on Garin.

Berrettini was considered a title contender for Wimbledon, both because of last year's run to his first Grand Slam final at the All England Club before losing to Djokovic - and because of his recent form on grass.

“I mean, he is definitely (one of the) top two, three players in the world on grass in the last three years. I mean, his results are testament to that,” Djokovic said on Monday about Berrettini. “Probably, this is his favorite surface. For his game, it's the most suitable surface. So there is a lot of expectations on his side that he should go far in this tournament.”

The 26-year-old Berrettini, who relies on big serves and big forehands, won two tuneup tournaments on the surface this month, going 9-0 at Stuttgart, Germany, and Queen's Club in London.

That was how he returned to action after being sidelined since March because of an operation on his right hand.

In all, since the start of 2019, he is 32-3 on grass. Two of those three losses came against six-time Wimbledon winner Djokovic and eight-time champion Roger Federer.

Two other singles players left the tournament Tuesday because of injuries: Danka Kovinic (lower back) and Wang Xiyu (left thigh).