Former top-10 player David Ferrer has been forced to withdraw from the first Masters 1000 tournament of the year due to an Achilles injury.
The Spanish player was set to play in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian wells for the first time since 2015 after also skipping last year’s tournament due to a lack of ‘motivation and energy.’ The withdrawal was confirmed in an official post by the tournament on their social media account, but they provided no further details regarding to severity of the injury.
Due to an Achilles injury, David Ferrer has pulled out of the #BNPPO17. That means Donald Young is into the MD. Get better, David! pic.twitter.com/cqXnQV7rzn
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) 3 March 2017
Ferrer, who has been ranked outside of the world’s top 20 since November, experienced a disappointing performance at two South American tournaments earlier this month. At the Buenos Aires Open, the Spaniard crashed out in his first match against Carlos Berlocq. Then a week later Ferrer suffered a first round defeat to Alexandr Dolgopolov.
This season, Ferrer has only won three out of eight matches he has played on the tour. His only back-to-back wins in a tournament occurred at the Australian Open when he reached the third round before losing to compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets.
Currently down at 28th in the world, the 35-year-old is facing the danger of being unseeded at the upcoming French Open for the first time since 2004.
The BNP Paribas Open will get underway on March 6th. Other withdrawals from the tournament include Gilles Simon, Steve Darcis and Nicolas Almagro. There is also uncertainty surrounding Milos Raonic’s attendance after he withdrew from the final of the Delray Beach Open due to a hamstring tear in his right leg.
