Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Australian Open for the second year in a row.
The 28-year-old has played only one match in 2023, on grass in Stuttgart in June, and his withdrawal appeared inevitable when his name was absent from the entry list for next month’s tournament.
“This is a very disappointing time for me but I won’t be able to compete at the 2024 Australian Open,” Kyrgios said on social media.
“Obviously, heartbreaking. I’ve had so many amazing memories there and I just want to really get back to playing at the top of my game and doing it right, and I need a little more time.”
Kyrgios pulled out on the eve of his first-round match at Melbourne Park in January and revealed he needed knee surgery.
At the time he was optimistic the lay-off would not be too long but it was June when he finally returned, and that proved a false dawn.
Kyrgios, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2022, then withdrew just before the Championships, this time citing a wrist injury, and he has not been seen on a match court since.
Kyrgios, who is currently unranked because of the length of his absence, announced he will be in Melbourne to do media work.
Nadal slumps out of Madrid Open as farewell appearance comes to a halt
Jiri Lehecka claimed a memorable win over one of tennis' greats as he downed Rafael Nadal at the Madrid Open.
Nadal's farewell appearance at the tournament he has won five times came to an end with a 7-5 6-4 defeat on Tuesday.
The 22-time grand slam champion had been hoping to tee up a quarter-final against Daniil Medvedev.
Ultimately, though, world number 31 Lehecka was the man who progressed.
Lehecka ruined the hopes of the Nadal fans packed into the stands in the Spanish capital, and took control when he reeled off 10 straight points to take the opening set.
Nadal won the Madrid Open in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017, and said farewell to the crowd in an on-court interview following his defeat.
Data Debrief: Nadal falls short of milestone
Nadal had been hoping to win his 60th match at the Madrid Open, while he would have reached his 100th ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final had he won. This was his first defeat to a player ranked lower than 20th in the world since he went down to Pablo Cuevas in 2016.
Lehecka, meanwhile, will make his second appearance in the last eight of a Masters 1000 event.
Auger-Aliassime gets the better of Ruud as Medvedev hits Masters 1000 milestone
Casper Ruud's hopes of building on his victory at the Barcelona Open were ended as he lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Madrid Open.
Auger-Aliassime will now face top seed Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, after claiming a 6-4 7-5 victory over the fifth seed Ruud on Tuesday.
Ruud, runner-up at last year's French Open and a force to be reckoned with on clay, won in Barcelona earlier in April, but came unstuck against the Canadian.
It was not the only shock exit, as Alexander Zverev, the world number five, succumbed in straight sets to Francisco Cerundolo.
Earlier, Daniil Medvedev claimed his place in the quarters, in which he could face Rafael Nadal, by beating Alexander Bublik 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
Data Debrief: Medvedev's milestone
Five of the six quarter-finals Medvedev has reached on clay have come at either ATP Masters 1000 or grand slam level.
He has now reached at least the quarter-final stage at all nine Masters events, too.
Alcaraz matches Nadal record as reigning champion scrapes into Madrid Open quarters
Jan-Lennard Struff made life difficult for Carlos Alcaraz, but the reigning Madrid Champion eventually made it through.
Alcaraz had won both of his opening games with the minimum of fuss, but he needed three sets to get beyond Struff, who won a second-set tie-break.
However, Alcaraz eventually prevailed in the decider, clinching a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4) victory.
Alcaraz, who is in the hunt for a third straight title in Madrid, will now face seventh-seed Andrey Rublev for a place in the last four.
Data Debrief: Prodigal son matches the master
There have been plenty of comparisons between Alcaraz and his fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
And with his win on Tuesday, Alcaraz matched Nadal's record for the longest winning run at the Madrid Open, at 14 matches, since the tournament began in 2002.
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