, 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 .
“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.”
His physio 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.
“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.”
He said withdrawing from the Australian Open has been “a mixture of emotions” which is, you know, absolutely fair.
Praying he’ll bounce back in no time. If you need me, I’ll be mourning the opportunity to see Nick Kyrgios reunite with to defend their Australian Open doubles title.
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
