"Unfortunately I've felt some discomfort in my obliques once again" - Matteo Berrettini withdraws from Australian Open with Mackenzie McDonald filling for clash against de Minaur

Matteo Berrettini has been through so many injury woes, with consistent fresh setbacks and false horizons. With the Australian Open set to commence, the Italian will not play any part of it due to some discomfort in his obliques.

He was in line for a breath taking match up against Aussie number one Alex de Minaur, who drew the short straw in coming up against a ferocious competitor like Berrettini.

The former Wimbledon finalist was in the up after a brilliant 2021 campaign. He reached a brace of quarter-finals in majors that year as well, winning two titles. He followed this up with a semi-final in the Australian Open at the start of 2022, as he looked to cement his position among the best players in the world.

Unfortunately, the injury issues kicked in. His major appearances have been sparse, with the quality on court not to the high standards once portrayed. However, the quality has still been there. This was most recently showcased at the Davis Cup Finals where he won all three of his matches in straight sets as Italy took home a third Davis Cup title on the spin.

He avoided playing in any ATP events leading up to the Australian Open, featuring twice on court in the Kooyong Tennis Classic. He defeated Learner Tien commandingly 6-2, 6-2 before suffering a surprise 7-5, 6-3 defeat to Aussie Tristan Schoolkate.

This was suppose to put him in a stable position to compete, but it turns out that illness will prevent him from taking any part in the event. "As you probably saw I has to pull out from the AO," Berrettini wrote on Instagram. "It's never easy to take this kind of decisions but unfortunately I've felt some discomfort in my obliques once again and I won't be ready to perform at my best level for five sets.

He unveiled the frustration of missing the event with him loving playing Down Under. "It hurts because playing in Australia has always been special and after four weeks of intense training I was excited and ready to get going. I'm hoping and feeling that I won't be out from the tennis courts for a long time. Thanks a lot for your support and understanding, your kind words mean more than you imagine. The year didn't start in the way we all wanted but luckily there is still time to make it all better."

is the lucky one in all of this. The American lost in the final round of qualifying but is fortunate to be in the main draw after Berrettini's untimely withdrawal.

The world number 113 will take on de Minaur, who will now relish the easier task, but it will certainly be no walk in the park. The pair have faced off three previous times on the court, with the Aussie coming out on top all three occasions. Their first meetings came back in 2017 and 2018, with the most recent in the ABN AMRO Open, in which proved to be another tight match.

They are set to meet on Monday, 18th January in their first round clash. While tennis fans have been robbed of what had been a very promising matchup between de Minaur and Berrettini, the Aussie fans can breathe a sigh of relief for what should be an easier matchup for their number one player.