Nick Kyrgios withdraws from BNP Paribas Open with lingering knee injury
The BNP Paribas Open announced Monday morning that Australian star Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the tournament due to a lingering knee injury.
Kyrgios, currently No. 19 in the world ranking, has not played on tour since October. He had minor left knee surgery in January after pulling out of the Australian Open before it started. He had targeted Indian Wells as his potential return to action but made the decision Monday to withdraw from both the BNP Paribas Open and also the tournament in Miami which follows Indian Wells.
The mercurial Australian is one of the most entertaining players on tour. He plays with a unique flair, but also is prone to bouts of frustration including frequent racket smashing. Kyrgios has made the quarterfinals twice in his career at Indian Wells, including last year when he lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets. At the conclusion of that match, Kyrgios whipped his racket down on the court in frustration and it ricocheted to the back wall forcing a ballboy to duck out of the way.
Kyrgios is coming off one of his best years, having made his first grand slam final at Wimbledon, losing to Novak Djokovic in the final.
The BNP Paribas Open runs from March 6-19.
Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Indian Wells: Nick Kyrgios withdraws from BNP Paribas Open with knee injury
