LAS VEGAS, March 2 (UPI) -- Defending Las Vegas Tennis Channel Open champion James Blake has been ruled out because of an incorrect interpretation of ATP rules, the ATP said Friday.
As a result, Evgeny Korolev will move out of group play and into Friday's quarterfinals and Blake is eliminated.
Blake had been declared the winner of his round robin group when Juan Martin del Potro retired because of breathing problems during Thursday's match. Blake, who needed to win in straight sets and lose less than five games total to escape a tiebreaker with Korolev, was ahead 6-1, 3-1 at the time.
Because of the confusion, local officials called ATP Chairman and President Etienne de Villiers for a ruling. He named Blake the winner.
But the retired match should not have been counted against del Potro and took him out of the tiebreaking procedures. Korolev and Blake were each 1-1 in round robin play, the first tiebreaker was head-to-head and Korolev had beaten Blake earlier in the week.
"I was contacted late at night my time and did not fully understand the issues being discussed and I made a judgment call on what seemed fair," de Villiers said. "However, I understand that judgment calls are not part of the rule book and I must abide by the rules, as must everybody else in the circumstance."
De Villiers apologized to Blake for "giving false hope" and to Korolev for "the confusion."
