Blackout at Madrid Open Forces Tennis Matches to be Cancelled amid Spain Power Outage

Officials for the Madrid Open cancelled Monday's play amid a blackout in Spain that impacted the tournament's facilities.

The blackout caused a number of logistical problems at Caja Mágica with the scoreboards going dark and the loss of lighting to help fans navigate the venue:

According to the Associated Press' Renata Brito and Barry Hatton, the blackout also impacted portions of neighboring Portugal.

"Offices closed and traffic was snarled as traffic lights stopped working," Brito and Hatton said. "It was not possible to make calls on some mobile phone networks, though some apps were working. In Barcelona, residents walked into stores searching for battery-powered radios and civilians directed traffic at junctions along the Gran Via avenue that cuts through the city."

The cause of the blackout has yet to be determined. An early examination pointed to possible trouble with the distribution of electricity in the Spanish grid.

In Madrid, No. 15 seed Grigor Dimitrov and Jacob Fearnley were in the second set of their men's singles clash when the match was delayed. Dimitrov leads 6-4, 5-4.

Matteo Arnaldi beat Damir Dzumhur in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, in the only men's match that was completed Monday.

In the women's singles draw, No. 7 Mirra Andreeva and No. 4 Coco Gauff managed to advance to set up a quarterfinal matchup.

Gauff prevailed in their first two head-to-head meetings. When the third is staged is anybody's guess.

The Athletic's Charlie Eccleshare noted the Madrid Open "has the capacity to reschedule matches provided the suspension of play lasts just one day." Should Tuesday's schedule be in jeopardy, it will cause serious headaches thanks to the quick turnaround between this event and the Italian Open, which gets underway May 6 in Rome.