MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Melbourne Summer Set ATP 250 event due to asthma, organisers stated on Tuesday, leaving him with just one event to put together for the Australian Open later this month.
Kyrgios, a crowd favorite at Melbourne Park, has not performed since late September due to knee points and has slipped to 93rd within the rankings, which dominated him out of rivalry for the Australian staff for the season-opening ATP Cup in Sydney.
The 26-year-old, who performed solely 15 matches in 2021, successful seven of them, was scheduled to tackle Slovakian Alex Molcan at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Kyrgios will now start his 2022 season on the Sydney Tennis Classic subsequent week after being handed a wild card for the event.
“I’m actually sorry that I’ve had to pull out from this Melbourne Summer Set event. I’ve been feeling run down and unwell for 4 days,” Kyrgios stated in a press release.
“I’ve had a number of COVID assessments over the previous few days which all got here again detrimental. I do not really feel 100% so I want to take this week to be prepared for Sydney subsequent week.
“I used to be actually wanting ahead to experiencing the very best followers on the earth right here at house. I can not wait to get again out there and see you all.”
The Australian Open will start on Jan. 17.
(This story was refiled to repair headline)
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
