Cameron Norrie has pulled out of the ASB Classic in Auckland citing a wrist injury picked during his second-round, three set battle.
Norrie was due to play Alejandro Tabilo, a qualifier but gave the Chilean player a walkover at an event where he had reached the final 12 months earlier.
In a statement, the organisers said: “The ASB Classic confirm that Cam Norrie has been forced to make the decision to withdraw from the ASB Classic due to a wrist injury.
“We wish Cam all the best with his recovery and hope to see him back out on the court in the not too distant future.”
Tournament director Nicolas Lamperin said Norrie informed them of his withdrawl half an hour before his match was due to begin.
“He didn’t experience anything during his match (last night), but this morning it was really painful,” Lamperin revealed, adding: “He had a warm-up and quickly found out he wouldn’t be able to play today. He was pretty devastated when he told us, we all know how much this tournament means to him.”
Norrie’s team played down the severity of the issue, insisting his withdrawal was merely a precaution just ahead of the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open, which starts on Sunday.
Tabilo, ranked 82, will play Frenchman Arthur Fils, the No 6 seed, who was handed a semi-final place when Germany’s Daniel Altmaier retired at 7-6(2) 1-0.
Fils was delighted with the victory but felt for his opponent.
“It was a tough first set, he played incredible, I hope he recovers before the Australian Open.”
Meanwhile at the top of the draw, Ben Shelton, the top seed went through to the last four untroubled by Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena, winning 6-4 6-3.
“Really happy to get through that one,” the big-serving American said.
“A lot of my wins are roller-coaster, three set wins, so I’m not used to going through people in straight sets. I’m really trying to stick to my game plan this week and focus on playing the type of tennis I want to be playing three, four years from now.”
The longest match of the day was Japan’s Taro Daniel’s 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3 victory over Frenchman Alexandre Muller
Ben Shelton happy with a quick win
(Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)
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