Xian Grand Prix field reshaped after Donaldson and Fu withdrawals

Two late withdrawals have reshaped the field for the Xian Grand Prix, which opens in Xian on Tuesday and runs through Monday, October 13. Scott Donaldson pulled out of the tournament for family reasons after already winning an opening qualifying round, and Marco Fu withdrew after suffering a fractured elbow, creating byes in the early rounds of the draw and altering the path for several seeded players.

Organizers said Donaldson, 31, could not be replaced in the draw because he had already advanced through qualifying. Donaldson had beaten Robbie McGuigan 5-1 in qualifying to reach this stage and recorded a 6-0 victory over Antoni Kowalski in International Championship qualifying on Wednesday. His withdrawal means the player who would have met him will instead progress without an opponent.

Marco Fu announced his withdrawal on social media after fracturing his elbow. He wrote, "Ouch Ive just fractured my elbow haha..dont ask me how. Nothing too serious, but will be out of action for roughly 2 months. Sadly l need to withdraw from a number of tournaments, hopefully l can get back on the table ASAP. Thank you for your support, take care and see you soon." Fu had already secured his...