Men’s hope Alex de Minaur has pulled out of the Australian Open after he was unable to overcome an abdominal injury that flared during the ATP Cup.
The 20-year-old withdrew from the Adelaide International on Monday after he aggravated the injury while playing five matches in an intense ATP Cup schedule.
Ranked the No.1 men’s player in Australia, he had undergone daily treatment in a bid to play in next week’s season-opening grand slam starting on Monday but confirmed on Thursday that he would not be fit to take part.
A disappointed de Minaur told reporters on Thursday afternoon he aggravated an injury.
“Obviously I’m not in the happiest mood but it’s something that happens,” Melbourne sports radio station SEN reported.
“I aggravated a bit of an ab injury. I’ve just got to do whatever I can to make sure my body recovers.”
Australian No. 1 Alex de Minaur is forced to withdraw from 2020 #AusOpen with an abdominal injury.
Come back stronger, Alex! 💪 pic.twitter.com/28PyyAGwfX
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 16, 2020
Ranked 21 overall, the demon first pulled out of the Adelaide International after “re-aggravating” an abdominal injury during the ATP Cup on January 9, where he and Nick Kyrgios pulled off a sensational win against the British in an epic doubles decider.
He then pushed world No.1 Rafael Nadal to three sets before losing 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
The world No.30 Kyrgios took to social media after the announcement with words of encouragement and support for his tennis “brother”.
“lil bro, keep your head up, you are an absolute champion. Rest up and feel better.
“All of us are behind you,” he wrote.
🔥 x ❄️ #ATPCup @alexdeminaur | @NickKyrgios pic.twitter.com/iU07pVMcKF
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 9, 2020
FoxSports reported on Wednesday de Minaur’s manager, Andy Craig said the young gun was hopeful of playing in his home Grand Slam.
“Alex is going to get all the information he can from the medical team. Once he has got that information he will be able to make a decision,” Craig told foxsports.com.au on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Australian Open website, it’s the second time in three years than an abdominal issue has affected the Australian rising star in the lead up to the Australian Open.
In 2018, after reaching the semifinals in Brisbane and the final in Sydney, De Minaur arrived at Melbourne Park and fell 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-1 to Tomas Berdych, hampered by the injury on his serve.
-with AAP
