Stefanos Tsitsipas has pulled out of the Shanghai Masters just hours before he was due to take to the court for his opening match. The No. 24 seed has been struggling with an ongoing back injury in recent months and was also forced to miss the recent ATP 500 event in Beijing.
Tsitsipas has not played a match since he suffered defeat to teenage sensation Joao Fonseca during Greece’s Davis Cup tie against Brazil three weeks ago. The 27-year-old led 5-3 in the deciding set but lost 6-4 3-6 7-5, and later said his back issues flared up when he was attempting to serve for the match.
As the No. 24 seed in Shanghai, Tsitsipas received a bye directly into the second round to face Nuno Borges. The Greek star arrived early in Shanghai to practice ahead of the tournament and get back into the swing of things after skipping the recent China Open.
Tsitsipas and Borges were set to meet in the last match of the day on Show Court 3 on Saturday, but Tsitsipas suddenly pulled out of the tournament and was replaced by lucky loser Aleksandar Vukic.
The former world No. 3 is next scheduled to compete in the Six Kings Slam, a lucrative, three-day exhibition event in Saudi Arabia, taking place from October 15.
Tsitsipas replaced British No. 1 Jack Draper in the six man line-up for the tournament after Draper was forced to end his season early due to an arm injury.
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