Food poison forces Casper Ruud, Tommy Paul, and co to drop out of the Acapulco Open in Mexico

Top seeds Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev, Tommy Paul, and, Ben Shelton are out of the Acapulco Open in Mexico.

Food poison forces Casper Ruud, Tommy Paul, and co to drop out of the Acapulco Open in Mexico

Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul (via X)

Three top seeds at the Acapulco Open in Mexico were hit by food poisoning which forced them to withdraw from the tournament. Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul didn’t take part in their Round of 16 matches at the ATP 500 event due to stomach bug, while Holger Rune was unable to continue against Brandon Nakashima in the first set.

The Mexico Open witnessed a shocking incident on Wednesday (February 26) when all the Top 5 players of the tournament either crashed out or fell ill. Alexander Zverev, who was favorite and top seed fell to Learner Tien in straight sets, playing one of his worst games this season. American star Ben Shelton also suffered defeat.

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American Alex Michelsen and Denis Shapovalov opened the Round of 16 stage of the tournament, with the latter winning 6-4, 6-3. Then the officials announced that Tommy Paul had withdrawn from his match against fellow compatriot Marcos Giron due to food poisoning. After that, Ruud then went on social media to announce his withdrawal.

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I was hoping to overcome this stomach illness that showed up yesterday. Hoping to come back stronger in a couple of days and come back here to Mexico next year.

Casper Ruud wrote via Instagram
Casper Ruud (via Instagram)

Fourth seed Rune took to the court against Nakashima but down 0-3 in the opening set, he decided to retire. He revealed on social media that it was because of food poisoning.

Furious and so sad at the same time. Had food poisoning and was unable to play today. One of my favourite places is Mexico and I love this tournament. Absolutely not the way I wanted it to end.

Holger Rune wrote via X

The tournament ended late in the night with Frances Tiafoe suffering an ugly defeat against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 3-6, 7-6(2), 3-6. The tournament is now without any favorite as any player can claim the title.

Learner Tien earns biggest career win to secure a place in the quarterfinals of the Acapulco Open

Learner Tien shocked the tennis world at the Acapulco Open by earning his biggest career win. The American defeated Alexander Zverev in straight sets to book a place in the quarterfinals. He had first announced himself at the Australian Open, where he triumphed against Daniil Medvedev in the second round.

Learner Tien
Learner Tien (Image via X)

After the hard-fought win, the 19-year-old was asked how he managed to control his nerves and remained composed all through the match knowing he was playing against the World No.2. He revealed that he kept his cool and focused on his game.

I just went out there and tried to control my side of the court. Obviously I knew it was going to be a tough match. To come through feels great… I think just focussing on what I can control and keeping my cool as best as I can has really taken me a long way.

Learner Tien said via ATP

Tien became the youngest American man to defeat a Top 3 player since Andy Roddick in 2001. He will face Tomas Machac in the quarterfinals on Thursday (February 28) and is set to climb to World No.68 in the ATP rankings.