Power Outage Disrupts Madrid Open: Tennis Matches and City Infrastructure Affected

A significant power outage in Madrid halted tennis matches at the Madrid Open, affecting both players and spectators. The event, impacting several city services, left matches suspended, including a notable interruption for Grigor Dimitrov and Jacob Fearnley’s round of 32 match. Restoration efforts are underway.

The Madrid Open faced an unexpected disruption on Monday when a pervasive power outage hit the Spanish capital, pausing tennis matches mid-play. The outage forced Grigor Dimitrov and his opponent, Jacob Fearnley, off the court at Manolo Santana Stadium where Dimitrov was leading. Critical electronic systems failed, adding to the chaos.

Coco Gauff, the fourth seed, experienced a power cut that interrupted her post-match activities after defeating Belinda Bencic. The outage extended beyond the courts, causing issues for spectators and hitting the vital technology at the Manzanares Park Tennis Center with severe effects on electronic line calling systems.

The ATP reported that other matches, including Matteo Arnaldi's game against Damir Dzumhur, were also disrupted. The widespread power failure extended to other parts of the city, compromising traffic lights, some airport operations, and the Madrid underground, prompting immediate responses from the city's electric grid operators.

(With inputs from agencies.)