Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur has been forced to withdraw from next week’s Australian Open 2020 due to an abdominal injury. The World No.21 aggravated the injury in his abdomen at the ATP Cup 2020. Hence, De Minaur’s withdrawal could again raise questions about the timing of the 24-team competition.
He was also forced to pull out of this week’s Adelaide International. It is the first time that the 20-year-old would miss his a Grand Slam main draw since 2017 Wimbledon Championships.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“It’s something really serious”: Alex de Minaur
The Australian had undergone treatment in order to be fit for the first major tournament of the year. However, despite intensive daily treatment, he was not fit enough to compete at his home Grand Slam.
“It’s not great, I’m not going to lie,” de Minaur told a media conference. “Obviously it’s a week of the calendar that I really look forward to and put in all the hard work for, so it’s pretty devastating to miss out on my home Slam.”
Also Read: “Tsitsipas Has Been Doing Crazy Things and Now It’s My Turn “: Alex De Minaur
Minaur at the ATP Cup 2020
He opened the year by leading Team Australia to the semi-finals at the inaugural ATP Cup 2020, scoring a pair of big wins against Alexander Zverev and Denis Shapovalov.
Pairing with Nick Kyrgios, he saved four match points to prevail in their deciding quarter-final doubles match against Great Britain’s Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury. He also stretched World No. 1 Rafael Nadal to three sets in the semi-finals against Spain.
Despite the injury, the next-gen star expressed hope to recover in time to feature at his home slam. “The injury is something that is not ideal and at this stage. We are just looking at short-term goals and trying to get better each day with a lot of treatment,” he had said earlier this week.
He added: “I have seen the physio. I have seen the doctors and I will be continuing to do that for the whole of the week and hopefully, I will be ready to play in Melbourne.”
