French tennis star Arthur Cazaux had to retire from his Miami Open qualifier against Harold Mayot on Monday after collapsing in the third set. The 21-year-old was tended to by medics and eventually whisked off in a wheelchair, with the umpire and Mayot also coming to his aid.

Cazaux, ranked 74th in the world by the ATP, was 2-1 up in the third-set decider and threatening to earn a break point by the time of the incident. Standing in the sunshine while awaiting Mayot’s serve, the youngster suddenly collapsed to the court and lay flat on his back.

It took a number of seconds for those watching on to realise the gravity of the situation as Cazaux lay waiting for help. As a ball boy approached Cazaux, the umpire began climbing down from his chair and a medic ran onto the court.

The Frenchman was later taken off in a wheelchair, surrendering the match at a vital moment and agonisingly blowing his chances of making it into the Miami Open main draw.

Temperatures at the Florida tournament reached 31C on Monday with 68 per cent humidity, although conditions are set to calm by the time the main draw gets underway on Wednesday.

Mayot, who plays David Goffin in a qualifier later today (Tuesday), hit back at those suggesting he did not react quickly enough to Cazaux collapsing and wished his countryman a speedy recovery.

Miami Open organisers have been stung by a handful of high-profile withdrawals leading up to the event. Men’s world number one Novak Djokovic announced over the weekend that he would sit it out in order to balance his ‘private and professional schedules’.

In the women’s draw, former US Open champion Emma Raducanu has been forced to pull out due to a lower back issue after a promising run at Indian Wells.