Power Interruption Halts Play at Madrid Open, Impacts Spain and Portugal

MADRID: A widespread power failure caused a suspension of play at the Madrid Open on Monday, prompting organizers to halt all matches for the day to ensure the safety of attendees.

The outage, which occurred around midday locally, affected significant portions of both Spain and Portugal, causing disruption to public transit, mobile communication networks, and electronic payment systems. Power restoration efforts have begun in certain areas.

REN, the Portuguese energy provider, stated that a unique atmospheric occurrence, connected to considerable temperature variations, was the source of the blackout.

Among the individuals impacted was Jacob Fearnley of Britain, who was engaged in a close third-round contest against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.

Fearnley was down 6-4, 5-4, but about to serve to stay in the match after having just saved a match point when the power went out, halting the game.

The power failure affected the electronic line-calling equipment and the scoreboards, which are crucial for contemporary tennis matches.

Following a brief delay, the umpire made an attempt to carry on with the match by calling the lines manually, but the overhead spider camera became immobilized, impeding the players’ view.

This resulted in a further delay before the umpire made the decision to escort the players back to the locker room.

Red Eléctrica, Spain’s national electricity grid operator, acknowledged the widespread outages and affirmed their commitment to restoring power.

Reports from Madrid indicate that traffic signals are inoperable and the subway system has been evacuated. Similar issues have been noted in Portugal.

Fearnley, along with fellow British players Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper, were among those scheduled for third-round matches on Monday.

Norrie was slated to compete against Gabriel Diallo of Canada, while Draper was scheduled to face Matteo Berrettini of Italy.