Ruud, Cilic withdraw from US Open before start

The US Open lost the No. 19 seed and one of its longest-serving names before a ball was struck, with Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic both withdrawing from the men’s singles with injuries on the eve of the tournament.

Ruud’s is a back problem sustained in training in New York. The Norwegian had been struggling visibly through the build-up, and a practice session with Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Thursday was scheduled for two hours but abandoned after 50 minutes, only 11 minutes into practice sets. He could not serve, and groundstrokes appeared painful.

Ruud was drawn against Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the first round. He is replaced by French lucky loser Arthur Gea, who inherits the match. Ruud was the only Norwegian man in the singles draw.

Cilic’s withdrawal has not been attributed to a specific injury. The Croat is replaced by lucky loser Otto Virtanen, who takes his first-round match against Andrey Rublev, the No. 23 seed.

Cilic had been drawn to meet Rublev in a section that has since opened up: Spaniard Daniel Merida beat Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday and plays the Rublev-Virtanen winner in the second round.