Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios has revealed he has a bone issue in his left knee, but insists it won’t stop him from causing some damage at this month’s Australian Open.
The worst of Kyrgios was on display on Thursday night when he put in an insipid display during a 6-2 6-2 Hopman Cup loss to American Jack Sock.
Kyrgios lacked energy in the dead rubber tie, blasting a series of unforced errors in a match that lasted just 49 minutes.
It revived memories of his Shanghai Masters meltdown in October, where he clearly tanked a series of points and was later handed a three-week ban from the ATP tour.
The 21-year-old made sure points didn’t last long in his Hopman Cup clash with Sock.
Second-serve ace attempts were a common sight, while Kyrgios also committed a glut of unforced errors while trying to land audacious winners.
Kyrgios carried the knee injury into the Hopman Cup, but all along maintained it was so minor that it didn’t even warrant scans.
However, Kyrgios finally underwent an MRI on Thursday morning, with the scan showing up the “start of some bone stuff in my knee”.
“It’s not terrible, but it’s not great,” Kyrgios said.
“I just need to rest now and a couple of days without the load and I should be back to normal.
“I think I have some time. A thing like this won’t take too long.”
Australian Daria Gavrilova levelled the tie at 1-1 with a fighting 6-3 4-6 7-5 win over world No.36 Coco Vandeweghe.
Matt Ebden will replace Kyrgios in the deciding mixed doubles, but the US are already guaranteed a berth in Saturday’s final.
Kyrgios is scheduled to play two more events before the January 16-29 Australian Open.
He was set to partner Bernard Tomic in Monday’s Fast4 doubles clash in Sydney, before fronting up for the January 10-12 World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide.
Kyrgios isn’t sure whether he’ll be able to fulfil those commitments.
But he remains optimistic about his chances of playing well at the Australian Open, despite his injury.
“I’m not the type of guys who needs plenty of matches before a grand slam,” Kyrgios said.
“I played two really good games here and obviously the knee was getting worse every day.
“I’ve got four days now to go home, see my physio, ice it and rest it and that is ample time for it to settle down.”
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