British No. 1 Cameron Norrie withdrew from this week's Mexican Open in Acapulco before the start of the main draw action.
The Mexican Open will proceed as scheduled despite alarming news of increased crime cases in the city of Acapulco. ATP players and staff on-site at the event have already been warned not to leave the confines of the tournament.
Norrie will not be part of the ATP 500 event as he has been forced to pull out for the second year in a row for the same reason - fatigue. Last year, he made back-to-back finals during the Golden Swing while playing in Buenos Aires and then Rio.
He was a runner-up at the Argentina Open, losing to Carlos Alcaraz. But he exercised revenge by beating the Spaniard to the title in Brazil. This year, Norrie did not quite hit the same heights of success. He was ousted in the second round in Buenos Aires.
And at last week's Rio Open, he struggled under the stifling Brazilian heat during his semifinal match against first-time semifinalist Mariano Navone. Norrie did not throw in the towel despite losing the first set, but as the match progressed, his body gave up on him.
At one point, he tried to play an underarm serve and got booed by the crowd. In the last changeover before the end of the match, Norrie received treatment from the physio, and his blood pressure was monitored, but he could not prevent the young Argentine from sealing his spot in the Rio Open final.
Although Norrie protected his record of never retiring from an ATP match, it indeed came at the cost of missing his next tournament. He probably pushed his body beyond his physical limits and will now look to recover for the first Masters of 2024 in Indian Wells.
0 Comments