- Aussie is making comeback after wrist, knee surgery
- Lost his only singles match in preparation for Grand Slam
Nick Kyrgios has announced he’s suffering from an abdominal strain that will prevent him from playing Novak Djokovic in an exhibition match just before the Australian Open begins .
The shock reveal on Wednesday morning will give his fans bad memories of the lead-up to the 2023 Grand Slam in Melbourne, when the star was forced to withdraw from the tournament after aggravating a knee injury during a charity match against the Serbian superstar.
‘Unfortunately won’t be able to play my good friend @djokernole this Thursday on the 9th as I’ve had an ultrasound on my abdominal strain and have a grade 1 strain,’ Kyrgios wrote on Instagram.
‘Will be resting and doing everything I can to be ok by the AusOpen.’
After undergoing a gruelling course of physiotherapy and training to get back into playing shape, Kyrgios has warmed up for his home Grand Slam by losing his first-round singles match at the Brisbane International, as well as playing two doubles matches with Djokovic.
After losing to big-hitting Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, the Australian said he needed a ‘miracle’ to play in Melbourne, where the action begins on Sunday.
Nick Kyrgios has revealed an abdominal strain has left him ‘doing everything I can’ to be ready to play in his home Grand Slam
The injury will stop him from getting some much-needed time on the court in a planned exhibition match against Novak Djokovic (pictured together) on Thursday
The star’s announcement (pictured) will have his fans fearing the worst after the star was forced to pull out of the 2023 Australian Open just days before play began
‘I felt I’d been hit by a bus after the doubles,’ he said after admitting his wrist was ‘throbbing’.
‘For my wrist it’s all new ground… I went from practising with people unranked to facing the biggest server… on the planet and, ‘let’s see how you go’.
‘It’s going to be a rough day tomorrow for my wrist.
‘I was really excited for the Aus Open and after today… the reality set in, to be fair.
‘It [winning a Grand Slam] might be one of the hardest things to do in any sport.
‘I almost need a miracle and the stars to align for my wrist to hold up in a Grand Slam for sure.
‘But I’m so happy to be part of the Australian summer again.
‘I don’t take it for granted; going out there again playing a top player like that … smiling to myself knowing I’m right in the heat of the battle.
‘We were not expecting to be playing here at such a high level.’
The loss to Perricard was the Aussie’s second tour-level singles clash in two and a half years.
In 2023 he shared a gruesome photo of the fluid that had to be drained from his knee after the charity match with Djokovic.
He had what was supposed to be a routine scan afterwards, but it revealed that he had a cyst in the joint and a tear to his lateral meniscus.
More to come…
