Stuttgart Open: Soundly beaten by his compatriot Sonego, Berrettini leaves the court in tears

Matteo Berrettini‘s return to grass didn’t go well at all. Lorenzo Sonego soundly beat his compatriot (6-1, 6-2) and reached the second round of the Stuttgart tournament on Monday.

After withdrawing from the French Open due to a torn oblique muscle, the world No 21 returned to his favourite surface, but his comeback was swift, as he lost in just one hour and 11 minutes. More worryingly, Berrettini has been suffering from a string of injuries over the last few months, having already retired from Monte Carlo and Acapulco – against Holger Rune both times.

The former world No 6, who was a finalist at Wimbledon in 2021, is struggling to get back to his best before his favourite Grand Slam, who starts in less than one month. After his heavy defeat on Monday, the Italian left the court in tears, very affected by his current situation.

Matteo Berrettini left the court in tears today after his loss to Lorenzo Sonego in Stuttgart

This was his first match back in 2 months

The crowd applauded him as he left the court & tried to lift his spirits in whatever way they could ❤️‍🩹

pic.twitter.com/CuQ0dmGOMe

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 12, 2023

At just 27, he has not managed to recover his tennis and his form.

Sonego, ranked No 41, will play the winner of the match between Australian Christopher O’Connell and German Daniel Altmaier next.

Stuttgart ATP250, other first-round results (Tennis Club Weissenhof, grass, EUR 718.410, most recent results first):

• Nick Kyrgios vs. Yibing Wu
• Benjamin Bonzi vs. Tommy Paul
• Zhizhen Zhang vs. Jan-Lennard Struff
• Denis Shapovalov vs. Marton Fucsovics
• Christopher O’Connell vs. Daniel Altmaier
• Corentin Moutet vs. Aslan Karatsev
• Gregoire Barrere vs. Oscar Otte
• Feliciano López vs. Yosuke Watanuki
• Richard Gasquet vs. Christopher Eubanks: monday
• Lorenzo Musetti beat Borna Gojo (Q): 7-6 (4), 6-3
• Jiri Lehecka beat Marcos Giron: 4-6, 6-3, 6-4