Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Australian Open due to a knee injury, one day before the 19th seed was set to begin his singles campaign against Roman Safiullin.
He said in a hastily-arranged press conference on Monday afternoon: “I’m devastated obviously. It’s my home tournament and obviously winning the tournament in doubles and playing the best tennis of my life probably.
“All I can do is my best to come back … It’s brutal.”
Kyrgios revealed he had suffered a cyst in his knee after a minor tear to his lateral meniscus. The issue, he said, was confirmed via MRI and had only became a serious problem in the last fortnight.
It leaves Australia without its top-ranked men’s and women’s singles players, after Ajla Tomljanovic withdrew on Saturday.
It is also a cruel blow to countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis, the reigning men’s doubles champion alongside Kyrgios.
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‘The ball boy take my racquet!’ | 00:45
Kyrgios will return to Canberra for arthroscopic surgery in the next fortnight.
“Obviously a mixture of emotions … that’s life. It’s part of the sport,” he said.
“I’m not doubting that I’ll be back to my full strength.”
The Australian was accompanied at the press conference by his physiotherapist Will Maher, who explained that Kyrgios was at risk of exacerbating the injury or suffering a major injury such as an ACL tear if he attempted to play through the pain.
Maher said: “We used the charity event against Novak to see if he could compete at the highest level.”
“He didn’t pull up great. It’s been pretty interrupted and difficult lead in.
“In the last week, Nick has experienced discomfort in his knee. There’s a small tear in his lateral meniscus. 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.”
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