Nick Kyrgios pulls out of U.S. Open tune-up event with knee pain

Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios
REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

Australian Nick Kyrgios pulled out of his first-round match with Britain’s Andy Murray at the Winston-Salem Open due to knee pain but the 26-year-old is confident he will be fit for next week’s U.S. Open Grand Slam.

Kyrgios withdrew from the ATP 250 event in North Carolina in a last-minute call, with lucky loser Noah Rubin replacing him. American Rubin lost 6-2, 6-0 to former world number one Murray.

World number 85 Kyrgios, who skipped the Tokyo Olympics because he did not want to play in front of empty stands, said he had been dealing with pain in his left knee in the last couple of weeks.

“With the U.S. Open just around the corner, I just didn’t feel it was worth the risk of going out there and possibly making it worse, not giving myself the best shot to perform at the U.S. Open,” Kyrgios told reporters.

“To play Andy Murray, a good friend, and tennis icon would have been amazing but I had to look after my body. And with the Grand Slam next week, I wanted to be more cautious.

“I am playing the U.S. Open 100%, it’s not like I am finishing my season. I needed more time to get right… the best option today was to rest it.”

The U.S. Open runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 12 in New York.

Novak DjokovicREUTERS/Edgar Su/File photo

Men’s US Open odds

  1. Novak Djokovic: -135
  2. Daniil Medvedev: +400
  3. Alexander Zverev: +600
  4. Stefanos Tsitsipas: +900
  5. Jannik Sinner: +2000
  6. Andrey Rublev: +2200
  7. Matteo Berrettini: +2500
  8. Milos Raonic: +3500
  9. Denis Shapovalov: +4000
  10. Aslan Karatsev: +4000
  11. Andy Murray: +4000
  12. Felix Auger-Aliassime: +5000
  13. Karen Khachanov: +6500
  14. Hubert Hurkacz: +6500
  15. Sebastian Korda: +6500
  16. Ugo Humbert: +8000
  17. Casper Ruud: +8000
  18. Roberto Bautista Agut: +8000
  19. Pablo Carreno Busta: +8000
  20. Christian Garin: +10000
  21. Lorenzo Musetti: +10000
  22. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: +10000
  23. David Goffin: +10000
  24. John Isner: +10000
  25. Alex De Minaur: +10000
  26. Grigor Dimitrov: +10000
  27. Reilly Opelka: +10000
  28. Diego Schwartzman: +13000
  29. Gael Monfils: +13000
  30. Nick Kyrgios: +13000

Odds courtesy of DraftKings