Tennis: Injured Davis Cup umpire undergoes surgery on fractured eye socket

[February 13, 2017]  LONDON (Reuters) - French umpire Arnaud Gabas has had surgery to repair a fractured eye socket after being hit by a ball from Canada's Denis Shapovalov during a Davis Cup tie with Britain, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Sunday.

"Chair umpire Arnaud Gabas has undergone successful surgery in France to repair a fracture of the orbital bone under his left eye," the ITF said in a statement.

"The fracture was detected when doctors performed X-rays upon Mr Gabas’s return from Ottawa, where he was unintentionally hit by a ball during the Davis Cup... tie between Canada and Britain on 5 February."

Gabas, who was initially sent to Ottawa General Hospital as a precaution, is recovering at home.

"I am now concentrating on rest and rehabilitation so I can be back on court in the near future," he said.

Shapovalov, 17, was defaulted from his match with Kyle Edmund after unintentionally firing the ball at the umpire. He later apologized but was fined $7000.

The tie was awarded to Britain.

(Reporting by Neil Robinson, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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Umpire Arnaud Gabas holds an ice pack to his eye after being struck by a ball during a singles match between Canada's Denis Shapovalov and Britain's Kyle Edmund. REUTERS/Chris Wattie