Kyrgios brushes off injury fears ahead of Open

Published 01/13/2016, 1:40 AM EST

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MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Nick Kyrgios will be fit for next week’s Australian Open despite pulling out of his Kooyong Classic match against David Goffin with a foot injury on Wednesday.

The outspoken Australian had called for a medical time out at 3-2 in the first set of the exhibition event before winning it in a tiebreaker against his Belgian opponent and called for the trainer again at 1-1 in the second.

The world number 30 carried on briefly but opted to quit at the next changeover while trailing 3-2.

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“Hate withdrawing, so sorry to everyone @KooyongClassic,” Kyrgios posted on Twitter.

“I just have to make sure I’m right for next week & I will be.”

Kooyang Classic tournament physiotherapist Rob Hanna said the Australian had a soft tissue inflammation and that he would be fine with rest and ice packs.

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“It was there a little bit this morning when he hit up before the match,” Hanna was quoted as saying by Australian Associated Press.

“He got to 2-3 in the first set and said he noticed it a bit more and that’s why he called me out.”

Kyrgios, 20, is in good form, having helped Australia win the mixed-team Hopman Cup event in Perth last week, where he beat British world number two Andy Murray.

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The Australian Open, the first grand slam of the year, begins in Melbourne on Monday with Kyrgios aiming to improve on his quarter-final appearance last year.

(Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly/John O’Brien)

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