Francisco Cerundolo was unable to continue his momentum after winning his fourth ATP title last week.
Cerundolo won the Argentina Open last week in Buenos Aires, having lost his two previous finals at his home tournament.
The world number 19 was looking to continue his momentum in Rio de Janeiro, and Cerundolo did win his first round match against Mariano Navone.
However, after being unable to complete his second round match against Thiago Agustin Tirante, Cerundolo has called out the tournament.
Francisco Cerundolo criticises Rio Open scheduling after retiring with injury
Cerundolo retired from his second round match against Tirante, when he was down 6-2 3-1 and could no longer continue after citing a lower back injury.
However, the 27-year-old was not done there, with Cerundolo calling out the Rio Open tournament organisers for scheduling him on back-to-back days after requesting a day off.
Cerundolo then went on to hint that the tournament were prioritising Brazilian players, with Joao Fonseca the only remaining home player in the singles draw having a day off after his first round match.
“I didn’t expect to have to play two matches back-to-back between yesterday and today,” Cerundolo told media after losing to Fonseca.
“I made the request so they wouldn’t schedule me like this, but they didn’t give me even a single chance. I can already imagine who they prioritize…”
Cerundolo has also since pulled out of the doubles tournament at the Rio Open that he was scheduled to play alongside Francisco Comesana.
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Joao Fonseca now has huge opportunity after Francisco Cerundolo retirement
With Cerundolo suggesting that the Rio Open were prioritising Fonseca, the Brazilian number one has now been given a big opportunity following the top seed’s exit from the tournament.
Fonseca had lost both his matches prior to the Rio Open this year, before winning his first round match against his compatriot Thiago Monteiro.
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However, the 19-year-old now has a huge opportunity to go on a run at the Rio Open, as Fonseca is now the only seeded player in his half of the draw.
Fonseca is actually one of only two seeds in the entire Rio Open this year, with eighth seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry still going in the bottom half of the draw.
As he looks to take advantage of this opportunity, Fonseca will now play his friend Ignacio Buse in his second round match after having a day off.
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