Australian tennis great Todd Woodbridge has questioned whether Nick Kyrgios’ withdrawal from the Australian Open stemmed from a lack of preparation.
Kyrgios confirmed he would take no part in his home slam after suffering a cyst in his left knee, leaving the Open without its top-ranked Australian male and female after Ajla Tomljanovic also succumbed to injury.
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Leading up to the tournament, Kyrgios participated in the ATP Finals alongside best mate Thanasi Kokkinakis in the men’s doubles as well as big-money exhibitions in Mexico and the Middle East.
However, the Wimbledon finalist did not partake in the United Cup due to an ankle injury, pulling out of the event just 24 hours before it commenced.
It left Woodbridge pondering if Kyrgios would opt for a different approach should he have his time again.
“I would hope he has a look at what he did at Wimbledon last year when his preparation was great,” Woodbridge told WWOS.
“The lead-up from a physical point of view, to then getting into the lead-in tournaments, to playing enough matches to be able to walk into Wimbledon knowing that everything was in that positive frame that he spoke about, that his ball striking was good, that his health was good, it gave him a chance to get in a final.
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“Was that the preparation that happened before this summer?
“That’s the question, and if you were looking back at his schedule you would say that it was difficult to see that prep when he was flying around the world playing exhibition events.”
With Kyrgios’ withdrawal and murmurs of Novak Djokovic also pondering the same fate, it could leave the Australian Open lacking some severe firepower, something neither Tennis Australia or broadcasters would have anticipated when they inked a five-year, $500 million deal in November.
Without Kyrgios’ box-office attraction, as well as a raft of other stars like Carlos Alcaraz, Serena Williams and Roger Federer missing, there’s likely to be fewer viewers tuning in than ever before.
It’s not just the tournament organisers or broadcasters upset about Kyrgios’ absence, with tennis great John McEnroe describing the firebrand’s decision to pull out as a “total and absolute bummer.”
“Nick’s been making progress that I wasn’t sure he even thought [he could make] or I did … to get himself to compete consistently at a high level and give the type of effort you need to go after and possibly win a Grand Slam,” McEnroe told Eurosport.
“I think we saw that because he was able to give this more consistent effort last year, when he was right in the mix.
“He got to the final of Wimbledon, he had a real shot to go all the way at the US Open, lost in the quarters, but looked great most of the tournament, and I’m sure that he was super pumped up because he’s playing in his home country.”
