The 2022 French Open is a few days away, and excitement for the epic Grand Slam grows by the day. Unfortunately for some players, they won’t be stepping on the red dirt of Paris. Matteo Berrettini, Andy Murray, and Gael Monfils are some the latest of the elite ATP players to bite the dust and withdraw from the second major of the year.
Major Withdrawals From The French Open
Matteo Berrettini Still Out With Injury
Berrettini has had his fair share of rotten luck in the injury department. His most recent setback required a minor operation on his right hand, which has kept him out of action since Miami. Though he is back to practicing and feeling better, it’s still too early after his surgery.
Though it wasn’t entirely unexpected, it’s a big shame to see Matteo Berrettini miss the tournament. His consistency at Grand Slam level has been incredible over the last year, making the quarterfinals or better at every Slam–including the final at Wimbledon and a semifinal at the Australian Open.
Berrettini was never classed as a good clay court player, but he showed his worth in Paris last year. He reached the quarterfinals where he lost to Djokovic, taking a set off him in the process. The Italian, despite his limit on his backhand, is a very competent player on the surface and he’ll be hugely disappointed to miss out here. He’ll also lose all his points from last year’s tournament, which won’t do his ranking any favours.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Out For The Season
Last year’s Roland Garros finalist will sadly not be present at this year’s tournament. In a Twitter post on Tuesday, the Russian confirmed that she would be missing the French Open as well as the rest of the season.
She’s been suffering with an injury for quite a while now, and unfortunately needs a lot more time to get back to where she needs to be. Her run last year to the final was sensational, and it would’ve been great to have another top competitor to rival this year’s favourite, Iga Swiatek.
With lots of off-court issues plaguing the Russian players right now, we hope that when she returns there will be a sense of normality back in this aspect of tennis.
Andy Murray To Focus On Wimbledon
Murray was expected to miss the clay court season and to focus solely on preparing for Wimbledon, so this is another one that isn’t hugely surprising. However, he returned to action on the red dirt in Madrid and played some exceptional tennis.
He took down Dominic Thiem (who is still finding his feet on return from injury) and Denis Shapovalov. Unfortunately, he withdrew from his highly anticipated clash with Novak Djokovic due to food poisoning, and subsequently withdrew from Rome qualifying.
Murray seems to be finding some very high levels of tennis. It’s a shame we won’t see him compete in Paris, but with all eyes on Wimbledon, this should do his preparation and body a whole lot of good.
Gael Monfils Suffers Injury Setback
The widely adored Frenchman will be heartbroken to miss his home grand slam, where he’s produced some mind-blowing tennis over the years. This is especially disappointing as he’s found some wonderful tennis again this year.
Monfils is suffering with a calcaneal spur which occurred in Monte Carlo. It’s currently unknown when we’ll see the maverick Frenchman back on court, but hopefully the wait isn’t too long.
In some positive news for Monfils, his wife Elina Svitolina recently announced she was expecting a baby.
Other Notable Absentees
Marketa Vondrousova, the 2019 French Open finalist, also will not be competing. The Czech has been experiencing wrist pain since mid-April and is now to undergo a minor surgery. This is a great shame as she’s an excellent clay court player and would no doubt have added some fierce competition to the draw if she was fit and healthy.
Roberto Bautista Agut will also not be playing at Roland-Garros. He, like Vondousova, is suffering with a wrist injury. Though he’s never advanced beyond the Fourth Round at the French Open, he’s always an extremely tough player to beat and undoubtedly raises the quality of tennis in the matches he plays.
Main Photo from Getty.
