Duck halts play at Madrid Open 2023, ball kid gives a chase

First-round match between Thomas Etcheverry and Adrian Mannarino was briefly stopped due a duck running across the court

In an unexpected turn of events at the 2023 Madrid Open, the first-round match between Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Adrian Mannarino was put to a brief halt after a duck accidentally found itself in the middle of the field.

Up against the Frenchman, Argentina's Etcheverry dominantly beat Mannarino to qualify for the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 event.

However, one of the best attractions of the match was the sight of a duck running across the court. The two players joined the spectators as they all looked in disbelief as the ball kid chased the duck away, but not before the animal jogged around the court before flying away, thus letting the game resume.

Etcheverry hit four aces as he beat the French veteran, 6-4, 6-0 to qualify for the second round of the tournament, where he will lock horns with American Frances Tiafoe.

Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, and Dominic Thiem march forward in the 2023 Madrid open

In the women's category, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Paula Badosa, Dominic Thiem, and Eugenie Bouchard all won their respective matches and advanced to the next round of the 2023 Madrid Open.

Sabalenka, the reigning Australian Open winner, beat Sorana Cirstea to set up a clash with Camila Osorio in the third round of the clay tournament.

Gauff, the sixth seed of the tournament, won her second-round match, 6-4, 6-1. The American will take on Spaniard Paula Badosa in the third round.

Gauff, alongside her doubles partner Jessica Pegula, also qualified for the round of 16 after the top seed won their first match of the tournament.

Petra Kvitova, who returned to action after missing the Stuttgart Open, also kicked off her campaign with a win over Jule Niemier.

Eugenie Bouchard won her first main draw match at the Madrid Open six years after her last appearance in 2017. During her 2017 campaign, the Canadian beat former Grand Slam winners Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament. However, Bouchard sparked off controversy with her subtle dig at Sharapova's doping scandal.

In the men's category, former Grand Slam winner Dominic Thiem has set up a second-round clash with fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas after the former beat Kyle Edmund, 6-4, 6-1.

Former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka will take on Andrey Rublev after the Swiss rallied to beat Maxime Cressy in the first round of the Madrid Open.

Edited by Yash Singh