Pedro Luis Alonso
Malaga tennis player Alejandro Davidovich has withdrawn from next week's ATP 500 tournament in Basel with a stomach virus.
As a result, he cannot defend the 330 points he earned by reaching the final there last year, when he lost to Brazil’s João Fonseca.
Davidovich had risen to 13th in the ATP Ranking after winning the Shanghai Masters 1000, the biggest title of his career, but the live rankings already have him down in 15th.
The fifth seed had been due to face Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the first round, but Hubert Hurkacz now takes his spot.
The illness is the latest interruption to his best season yet. That said, he is expected to return at the Paris Masters on 2 November.
Meanwhile, captain David Ferrer is due to name Spain’s Davis Cup squad on Monday, with Davidovich set to be included.