National power outage stops play at Madrid Open

Jacob Fearnley of Great Britain was forced off court as a result of a national power outage that prevented play at the Madrid Open.

When play on the main court was suspended, Fearnley was set to play against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who had saved a match point, and was set to continue playing.

The electronic line-calling system, which has replaced line judges, and scoreboards have lost function due to the power outage.

The umpire made line calls in place of the system after a brief delay and the play resumed.

However, the low-hanging spider camera was in the player’s eyelines and had become inoperable.

Red Electrica, Spain’s electricity grid operator, confirmed power outages and declared that it was working to restore electricity.

In Madrid, there have been reports of power outages and the evacuation of the underground railroad system, as well as a similar power outage in Portugal.

Fearnley, a Scottishman, is one of three British players scheduled to play in Madrid on Monday.