Top ten ATP star forced to withdraw from Australian Open minutes before his match
Eighth seed Casper Ruud has withdrawn from the Australian Open just hours before his first match due to injury.
The Norwegian was in the same quarter of the draw as Stefanos Tsitsipas but he twisted his ankle in practice two days before the tournament.
He has given himself every chance to recover, but in the end he was forced to admit time had beaten him.
“I’m not at 100% and this is the best decision,” Ruud said.
He will be replaced in the draw by lucky loser Roman Safiulin, who will now face Slovakian Alex Molcan in the opening round.
Statement about my @AustralianOpen withdrawal today..??? Thanks for all thoughts and support?? pic.twitter.com/chzj1HFJ8F
— Casper Ruud (@CasperRuud98) January 18, 2022
Ruud’s withdrawal means the Australian Open men’s draw has lost two top eight seeds before their tournaments even began, with Novak Djokovic the other.
It will likely open up that quarter of the draw, though, with the likes of Jannik Sinner, Andy Murray Nikoloz Basilashvilli, and Alex De Minaur likely to be eying up the opportunity.
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