Argentina's Schwartzman in injury scare before Australian Open

Argentina's two highest-ranked men's players Diego Schwartzman and Francisco Cerundolo are a doubt for next week's Australian Open after pulling out of the Auckland Classic.

The 25th-ranked Schwartzman retired from his second-round match on Wednesday with a leg injury after losing the first set to American Jenson Brooksby.

The third seed struggled through the set, which he lost 6-1, before seeking medical attention.

After having his upper left thigh strapped, the 30-year-old was still uncomfortable when performing exercises and forfeited the match -- five days from the start of the Grand Slam in Melbourne.

Schwartzman has reached at least the quarter-final stage at five Grand Slam tournaments, although his best result at the Australian Open are fourth-round exits in 2018 and 2020.

World number 30 Cerundolo pulled out before the start of his second-round match with an apparent illness, citing "abdominal pain".

"With my team we decided that this was the best decision," he posted on social media.

"Now we are going to Melbourne to recover and try to get to compete at 100 percent in the Australian Open."