Hooly dooly, Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of the Australian Open a day before he was set to hit the court ‘cos of a knee injury.
Per FOX Sports, Kyrgios made the call after an MRI showed a cyst in his knee caused by a tear in his meniscus. Ouchy.
The World No. 21 announced his withdrawal at an impromptu media conference on Monday afternoon — a day before his first-round singles match against Roman Safiullin.
“I’m devastated,” he said.
“This is my home tournament and obviously winning the tournament in doubles and playing the best tennis of my life probably.”
A dejected Nick Kyrgios announces his withdrawal from the Australian Open at a press conference due to injury.
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His physio Will Maher said the injury isn’t career-threatening but Kyrgios wouldn’t have been able to play to the best of his abilities with a bung knee.
“We used the charity event against Novak [Djokovic on Friday] to see if he could compete at the highest level,” he said.
“He didn’t pull up great. It’s been [a] pretty interrupted and difficult lead in.
“In the last week, Nick has experienced discomfort in his knee … It was worth persevering to see if he can get back on court.
“To Nick’s credit he did everything to get back on court.”
Kyrgios will go under the knife to remove the cyst and spend a few weeks recovering before the Indian Wells Masters kicks off in California in March.
He said withdrawing from the Australian Open has been “a mixture of emotions” which is, you know, absolutely fair.
“The last slam I played was the US Open and I was very hard on myself after that,” he said.
“This injury hinders my knee, it hinders my movement. The only way to fix it is to get in there.
“It’s just bad timing. That’s life, you know. Injuries are part of sport … I’m not doubting that I’ll be back to my full strength.”
Praying he’ll bounce back in no time. If you need me, I’ll be mourning the opportunity to see Nick Kyrgios reunite with Thanasi Kokkinakis to defend their Australian Open doubles title.
