Croatia hit by double withdrawal

Croatia have suffered a double blow ahead of the Olympic tennis event with the withdrawal of both Ivan Ljubicic and Ivo Karlovic.

Ljubicic, a former world number three who has slipped to 51 in the rankings, pulled out with an unspecified injury.

His place has been taken by Devon Mullings of the Bahamas, the world 1025, who now plays Argentina's Agustin Calleri in the first round.

Karlovic withdrew on Friday after developing a high temperature.

His place was taken by Chinese youngster Yu Xin Yuan, who gets his tournament underway against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

Karlovic, the world number 18, recently defeated Roger Federer in Cincinnati.

Croatia had already lost Mario Ancic, who pulled out earlier this month because of illness, and have Marin Cilic as their only men's hope.

The tennis tournament begins on Sunday 10 August.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
Blog: BBC Sport's Tom Fordyce on the Federer circus
Beijing 2008 - tennis
International Tennis Federation - latest Olympic news
Have your say on tennis on 606
How players qualify for Beijing
Olympic schedule from the BOA
Top tactics by Andy Murray
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites