Kyrgios “devastated” as knee injury forces him out of Australian Open

Local favourite Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of the Australian Open due to a knee injury, it was announced on Monday.

Kyrgios, a finalist at Wimbledon in July and one of the biggest box-office draws in the sport, has struggled with the injury in recent weeks and had also pulled out of the United Cup event at the beginning of the season.

The Australian has a tear in his lateral meniscus and a cyst and will need to undergo surgery on the knee.

“All I can do now is just look forward, do what I need to do and come back” – Kyrgios

Kyrgios, accompanied by his long-time physio Will Maher, addressed the media on Monday after the announcement.

“Obviously extremely disappointed. Honestly, I’m just exhausted from everything, and obviously pretty brutal. One of the most important tournaments of my career. It hasn’t been easy at all,” Kyrgios said in his press conference to the media on Monday.

“I guess after the US — it always goes back to the last Grand Slam I played was the US Open, and obviously extremely hard. I was extremely hard on myself after that loss in the quarterfinals. Obviously thinking that I could win it from there on, and obviously just had Australian Open was on the back of my mind from that day forth as soon as I got off the court against Khachanov. I always wanted to just do everything right and train right and tick every box, and just be ready for the Australian Open. Obviously, this coming around is just bad timing. But that’s life. Injury is a part of the sport. I guess I can draw some inspiration from someone like Thanasi who has had a bunch of injuries and has bounced back. I’m devastated obviously. It’s like my home tournament. I’ve had some great memories here. Obviously last year winning the title in doubles and playing the best tennis of my life probably. Then going into this event as one of the favorites, it’s brutal. All I can do now is just look forward, do what I need to do and come back.”

Kyrgios, the 19th seed, at Melbourne Park, will be replaced by lucky loser Denis Kudla in the draw.

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