Stefanos Tsitsipas has been handed a free passage to the quarterfinals of Australian Open 2021 after fourth-round opponent Matteo Berrettini withdrew with an abdominal strain from their match scheduled for Monday night at Rod Laver Arena.
Berrettini, the ninth seed, was injured late in his straight-sets victory over Russian Karen Khachanov on Saturday night, requiring a medical timeout before returning to the court to put the finishing touches on a 7-6(1) 7-6(5) 7-6(5) victory that saw him make the fourth round in Melbourne for the first time.
"I had a problem with my abs, and I spoke to the doctors and they said it can get worse," Berrettini said.
"Obviously I'm not 100 per cent ... I decided not to play because it's not worth the risk on this big stage.
"What I felt in the previous match with Khachanov at the end was something that is bigger than I thought, so I cannot play. During the match, I think it was 4-3 in the third, I felt something that I hoped wasn't that big, but in the end I guess it is because I'm here not able to play."
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Tsitsipas, the fifth seed, returns to the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time since his run to the final four in 2019, and will face No.2 seed Rafael Nadal for a spot in the semifinals after Nadal’s straight-sets passage past Italian Fabio Fognini earlier on Monday.
Nadal leads his head-to-head rivalry with the Greek 6-1, with their only previous meeting at a major coming two years ago in Australia where Nadal won 6-2 6-4 6-0.