The Mexican Open draw took a hit on Wednesday when food poisoning forced several top seeds to pull out before and during their matches.
Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul couldn’t take to the court for their last 16 matches, giving their opponents a walkover straight into the quarter-final.
No. 4 seed Holger Rune played just three games of his match before calling it quits and later revealed he was suffering from food poisoning.
“Furious and so sad at the same time. Had a food poisoning and was unable to play today,” the 21-year-old tweeted.
“One of my favorite places is Mexico and I love this tournament @AbiertoTelcel . Absolutely not the way I wanted it to end.”
Paul, who was the third seed in Acapulco, pulled out citing stomach issues. World No. 5 Ruud also said he had been battling an illness over the past day.
Taking to Instagram, the three-time Major finalist wrote: “I’m so sorry I had to pull out tonight.
“I was hoping to overcome this stomach illness that showed up yesterday and tried everything I could to be able to play tonight, until the very last moment.”
The tournament lost more big names on Wednesday, with top seed Alexander Zverev crashing out to teenage qualifier Learner Tien in straight sets. It was rumoured that Zverev was also likely suffering from food poisoning.
Rising American star Alex Michelsen also crashed out, losing to Denis Shapovalov in three sets and calling the trainer for what appeared to be a sickness.
While his loss wasn’t believed to be illness-related, fifth seed Ben Shelton was ousted by David Goffin.
Following the losses and withdrawals in Acapulco, organisers of the MGM Rewards Slam exhibition in Las Vegas postponed this weekend’s men’s competition.
Zverev, Ruud and Paul were all set to compete but are now believed to be battling food poisoning. Taylor Fritz was also in the field but he pulled out ahead of the Mexican Open earlier this week, citing an abdominal injury.
The four top players were set to go head-to-head in Las Vegas on Sunday. No new date for the event has been given.
An MGM Rewards Slam women’s match between Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka will still go ahead on Saturday.
