Tommy Paul has experienced a frustrating start to his grass-court swing on the ATP Tour.
Paul just finished his clay-court swing at the French Open, where he fell in the third round to Casper Ruud despite claiming the first two sets.
The American, who was the 24th seed at the Grand Slam, had previously knocked out Rinky Hijikata and Lorenzo Sonego.
Paul had since planned to take on the Boss Open in Stuttgart, but he has now withdrawn from the ATP 250 event in Germany.
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Tommy Paul withdraws from Stuttgart at the last minute
Paul has been forced out of the tournament with a neck injury, although his withdrawal arrived just minutes before entering the court.
He was replaced in the draw for a first round match with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard by lucky loser Roman Safiullin, who initially lost in qualifying.
Their meeting has, however, been halted by rain in Stuttgart, with Safiullin leading 5-7, 7-6(7-4), 4-1.
Meanwhile, Paul has also been forced out of the doubles event, where he was scheduled to play alongside fellow American Ben Shelton.
Ben Shelton handed tricky Stuttgart draw
Shelton would undoubtedly have been looking forward to playing doubles with Paul, but the latter’s withdrawal does indeed allow him to focus fully on singles.
And that could work wonders for the American, who doesn’t exactly have the most straightforward start to his grass season.
Shelton is the top seed at Stuttgart, which he enters on the back of a disappointing second round exit at the French Open.
He’s now into that stage in Germany after his first round bye, with either Roberto Bautista Agut or Marcos Giron awaiting in the round of 16.
That could be followed by a blockbuster quarterfinal with Nick Kyrgios, and then a possible all-American semifinal between Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.
The same scenario could then arise in the final, where second seed Taylor Fritz represents a potential opponent.
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