\n<\/p>\n
Nick Kyrgios\u2019s surgically-repaired knee and wrist will not prevent him from taking part at Melbourne Park, where Australian Open qualifying begins next week, but he will not feature in the singles draw.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old posted on social media saying he wasn\u2019t ready for best-of-five set tennis, ruling himself out of contention for a wildcard, but he would still take to the court alongside friend and doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter some good conversations with [Tennis Australia], I\u2019ve made the call to focus on doubles for this year\u2019s [Australian Open],\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m fit and back on court, but five-setters are a different beast and I\u2019m not quite ready to go the distance yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kyrgios\u2019s first singles ATP Tour match in almost 10 months ended in a quick defeat on Tuesday at the Brisbane International, where he lost in 66 minutes to world No 58 Aleksandar Kovacevic.<\/p>\n
He appeared in discomfort, clutching at his arm midway through the first set, and wearing strapping on his right wrist and a brace on his left ankle.<\/p>\n
Kyrgios added strapping on his right elbow and right knee for his doubles match on Wednesday, which he and Kokkinakis lost in a tie-break.<\/p>\n
However, the controversial figure will still be prominent in Melbourne in coming weeks. He has indicated he wants to play in the One Point Slam promotion, and has previously committed to the Kooyong Classic, which gets under way on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis tournament means everything to me but I\u2019d rather give my spot to someone who\u2019s ready to make their moment count,\u201d Kyrgios said. \u201cIt\u2019s all building blocks and I\u2019ll be back next year and pumped to compete. See you out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kyrgios would have required a wildcard from tournament organisers, or to progress through qualifying, to compete in the men\u2019s singles main draw. The men\u2019s doubles begins at Melbourne Park on Monday, 19 January, the day after the start of singles.<\/p>\n
Former champion Stan Wawrinka was awarded one of the wildcards on Friday, along with Australian duo Jordan Thompson and Chris O\u2019Connell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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