Another tennis player has withdrawn shortly before they were due to take to the court at the Madrid Open. Former world No. 3 Marin Cilic was due to faceJoao Fonseca in the second night session match on the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, but announced his withdrawal as the first match of the evening was getting underway.

It comes just hours after Grand Slam champion Madison Keys' sudden withdrawal. The No. 16 seed received a bye directly into the second round but pulled out minutes before her opening match against Zhang Shuai. She was replaced by lucky loser Anastasia Potapova, who went on to win.

However, because Cilic has already played a round, while Keys had not, a lucky loser cannot take his place. This meant Fonseca advanced via a walkover, and the match was cancelled. Organisers acted quickly to schedule a new match for the second night session and released a statement confirming the change.

They wrote: "CHANGE OF COURT. The match between Tommy Paul and Thiago Agustín Tirante has moved to the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium not before 8:00 pm. Marin Cilic has withdrawn from the #MMOPEN, and Joao Fonseca advances by walkover."

Former US Open champion Cilic later revealed that food poisoning had forced him out of the tournament. "Hi everyone, Unfortunately, I got food poisoning yesterday," he wrote on social media.

"After trying to recover all night, my body is unfortunately exhausted and not at the proper level to get into the battle. Apologies to all the fans who were waiting to watch the match. I was so excited to be back in Madrid. Gracias a todos for the support. Good luck @joaoffonseca and I hope that we have a chance to play somewhere again!"

Cilic had been relishing the opportunity to face 19-year-old star Fonseca, who already has two titles to his name. After winning his first-round match, the current world No. 51 told Portuguese broadcaster Sport TV: "It's definitely going to be a fun battle of generations.

"Joao is climbing the rankings and playing better and better season after season. It's definitely going to be fun to play against him. I'll obviously try to play my best tennis. Plus, the crowd will be really lively. You have to enjoy these kinds of intense, emotional moments. It's going to be a fun battle."

Fonseca is through to the third round of the Madrid Open for the first time in his career, and faces either Alex de Minaur or fellow teen star Rafael Jodar.

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