Matteo Berrettini withdraws from Davis Cup due to injury

Matteo Berrettini will not be representing Italy at this month's Davis Cup Finals, as the Italian has withdrawn from the tournament due to an injury.

The World No. 7 suffered an abdominal injury during his first round-robin at the ATP Finals earlier this week, which subsequently forced him to retire and pull out from the event. Berrettini announced on Friday that he would not be competing at the upcoming Davis Cup Finals, describing his decision as painful and diappointing.

"This is the last thing I wanted to announce to end the best season of my career. It was a fantastic year, full of emotions, victories, painful defeats and unfortunately injuries," Berrettini wrote on Instagram.

"This last one is the reason why I cannot participate at the Davis Cup this year. It is pointless to tell you how painful and disappointing these last few days have been; of all the possible scenarios this is definitely the hardest to stomach."

The Davis Cup Finals are slated to run from November 25-Dec 5, with Italy scheduled to face the United States and Colombia in Group E of the 18-team tournament. Although no replacement has been named as of yet, the Italian Davis Cup team features a strong lineup of Jannik Sinner, Fabio Fognini, Lorenzo Sonego and Lorenzo Musetti.

"I am stopping, but only to come back stronger and give myself and all of you even greater victories and emotions,” added the 25-year old.

"Our team is one of the strongest ever fielded and I am sure they will carry the colors of our flag to a great height. My 2021 ends with many regrets but looking back, I can only be proud of the journey I have been on."