LONDON (AP)—A pair of Frenchmen retired Thursday from Wimbledon singles matches, raising the total of players pulling out of the second round to nine, which equals the Open era Grand Slam record for one round.
Michael Llodra cited hamstring problems for forcing him to stop after dropping the first set of his match against 23rd-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy. Llodra then played and won a doubles match with partner Nicolas Mahut.
Paul-Henri Mathieu quit while trailing 6-3, 5-1 against Feliciano Lopez of Spain.
Llodra and Mathieu joined seven players who pulled out Wednesday.
Nine men and women withdrew or stopped mid-match during the first round of the 2011 U.S. Open.
All told, 12 players have pulled out of Wimbledon so far, one short of the full tournament record, set in 2008.