Daily Times

SYDNEY: Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of the Halle tournament in Germany due to an ongoing issue with his knee and the Australian said on Monday he wanted to give his body every chance to be ready for the grasscourt Grand Slam. The 28-year-old underwent surgery on a left knee injury earlier in the year and was beaten in his comeback match after a five-month layoff when he fell to China’s Wu Yibing in the Stuttgart Open first round last week. He had trouble with his movement during that match and the problem has now forced Kyrgios to pull out of the ATP 500 event in Halle, where he reached the semi-finals in 2022. “Very unfortunate news. I won’t be able to compete at Halle this year,” Kyrgios said in a video released by the organisers of the tournament. “I’m still dealing with a couple of things with my knee. Just trying to give myself the best opportunity to compete at Wimbledon.” The world number 31 will be replaced in the Halle draw by lucky loser Aslan Karatsev, organisers added. The Wimbledon build-up tournament began earlier on Monday.