Rune Withdraws in Washington, Moutet Gets Lucky Loser Spot to Face Muller

Holger Rune was scheduled to compete in the ATP 500 tournament in Washington. The draw had paired him against Alexandre Muller in the second round, but the Dane won’t have the chance to step onto the court later today.

Indeed, while he was set to face the Frenchman at 1 a.m. French time, Rune ultimately withdrew due to a back injury. The tournament organizers confirmed the news on their social media this Tuesday.

As the No. 3 seed in the American capital, Rune likely didn’t want to take any risks with the upcoming Toronto–Cincinnati–US Open stretch looming in the coming weeks.

On the other hand, the last-minute withdrawal of the world No. 9 is good news for the French camp, as Corentin Moutet—who lost in the final round of qualifying to Wu Yibing—gets a reprieve as a lucky loser and advances directly to the second round. He will now face Muller in an all-French clash overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday.