ATP

Tsitsipas withdraws from ATP Finals with injury, Norrie to play Ruud instead

By Sports Desk November 17, 2021

Stefanos Tsitsipas has been forced to withdraw from the ATP Finals in Turin because of an injury to his right elbow, with Cameron Norrie taking his place.

Tsitsipas was beaten in straight sets by Andrey Rublev - who faces Novak Djokovic next - in his opening Green Group match on Monday and was scheduled to take on Casper Ruud on Wednesday.

However, the 23-year-old's elbow issue means that ATP Finals debutant and Indian Wells winner Norrie will play Ruud instead, in his first match of the group stage.

Ruud's first outing ended in a straight-sets defeat at the hands of Djokovic, although the Norwegian may be more confident of his chances in this match, having beaten Norrie 6-0 6-2 in their only other encounter last month at the San Diego Open final.

Tsitsipas - who won the ATP Finals in 2019 - was forced to retire from his Paris Masters clash against Alexei Popyrin last month, also due to an ongoing elbow problem, and the Greek is no longer able to play through the pain.

Norrie is the second alternate to join the competition after an injury to one of the original eight. Jannik Sinner replaced fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini and went on to defeat Hubert Hurkacz in the Red Group on Tuesday.

 

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