Well folks the 2022 Wimbledon Championship is underway and the big story on day two is the fact that the 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini of Italy has had to withdraw from the third major of the year because of a positive coronavirus diagnosis. Berrettini was considered a pre-tournament contender having not only reached the Wimbledon final a year ago, but the fact he won the last two Queen’s Club Championships leading up to Wimbledon.
The fact that Berrettini is not participating at Wimbledon because of coronavirus is just the latest reminder that we are still living in a pandemic. There are 348, 910 active cases of coronavirus in Great Britain at the moment, and there have been 180,128 total deaths in Great Britain alone.
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With the fact that Berrettini is not at Wimbledon this year makes Novak Djokovic an even bigger favourite. Another big name was knocked out of the Wimbledon draw on Monday, as the seventh seed and 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist Hubert Hurkacz of Poland lost 7-6, 6-4, 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain. Like Berrettini, Hurkacz won a significant grass court tournament as he won the Halle Open.
Two other top 10 seeds lost in the first round. On the men’s side, the sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada lost to Maxime Cressy of the United States, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. On the women’s side, the seventh seed and 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins of the United States lost 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams of the United States lost her first round match to Harmony Tan of France, 7-5, 1-6, 7-6.
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