Nick Kyrgios was scheduled to play British tennis ace and former world no 1 Andy Murray at the Winston-Salem Open but he had to withdraw from the event at the very last moment citing a knee injury.
Fans of both the stare were waiting for this showdown to happen but Kyrgios’s withdrawal meant that they will have to wait for another time. In the meantime, Andy had to play lucky loser, Noah Rubin.
If the event had happened as it was scheduled then it would have been the seventh time the two would have clashed at the court. The 26-year-old had previously triumphed over Andy at the Queen’s Club in 2018.
When asked whether he was disappointed in missing the opportunity to play against the tennis icon, Kyrgios clearly stated that he was very excited about the match. He admires Andy for his strength and tenacity.
“I feel when I play it’s a bit of rarity these days and to have someone like Andy going through what he’s going through and to be back on tour as well, I think this much was very hyped up. I was obviously very excited to play him.”
“To play Andy Murray, one of my good friends and a tennis icon would have been amazing, but obviously I have to look after my body.”
The Aussie’s last match was against Reilly Opelka at the Canadian Open where he lost to him in the first round. He was in rehab in Florida training and trying to improve his knee condition but he didn’t think it was the right time for him to play another match when the injury still was not healed completely.
“I was in Florida, in Bradenton rehabbing and training and came here obviously excited to play here. I love the facility, it’s really great. I just didn’t feel the risk was worth [playing] today. I’ve got to be more cautious with it, keep rehabbing, keep training.”
Kyrgios is probably not going to play any match anytime soon but he plans to participate in the US Open until then he is going to focus on recovering so that he is in his best shape before the event commences.
