Stefanos Tsitsipas has advanced to the Australian Open quarter-finals after Matteo Berrettini withdrew prior to their match on Monday night due to an abdominal strain.
Ninth seed Berrettini suffered the injury in the third set of his 7-6(1), 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory over Karen Khachanov on Saturday. He received a medical time out during the match to relieve pain in his abdomen.
“I’m really sorry to say that I got injured in the last match that I played,” Berrettini told reporters on Monday after news emerged.
“I’m not 100 per cent. To beat these guys, you have to be 100 per cent. I think it’s not really professional to step [onto court] when you’re not the best.”
Greek tennis player and fifth seed, Tsitsipas, will now prepare to face 2009 champion and second seed, Rafael Nadal, on Wednesday in a bid to reach his second Australian Open semi-final.
Nadal booked a ticket to his 13th Australian Open quarter-final with a straight-sets win 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 against Fabio Fognini on Monday.
It’s the 43rd time Nadal has progressed to the quarter-finals of a grand slam. He currently leads Tsitsipas 6-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.
