Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Australian Open and will undergo surgery on a knee injury, announcing his withdrawal just one day before his first-round singles match against Roman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.”
The 19th seed revealed he had suffered a cyst in his left knee after a minor tear to his lateral meniscus. It is unclear when the injury occured, but Kyrgios had been suffering worsening pain in the last fortnight and subsequently confirmed the diagnosis via MRI.
It leaves Australia without its top-ranked men’s and women’s singles players, after Ajla Tomljanovic withdrew on Saturday.
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