Nick Kyrgios believes Alex de Minaur made the right decision to not risk his injury and withdraw from Wimbledon.
The Australian reached the last eight of the grass court Grand Slam for the first time in his career after defeating 20-year-old Arthur Fils in round four.
The ninth seed is in the best form of his career and was ready for the ultimate challenge of facing Novak Djokovic for a spot in the semifinals.
But he was dealt a huge blow after suffering a hip injury at the conclusion of his last 16 tie, denying him the chance to face the 24-time Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon.
Nick Kyrgios reacts to Alex de Minaur’s Wimbledon withdrawal
De Minaur achieved his best run at the French Open by reaching the quarter-finals in June and managed to do the same thing at the All-England Club.
He gained his first win against Djokovic at the Untied Cup in January and he certainly had the form and confidence to cause the Serbian some problems at SW19.
But with the rest of the season in mind, the 25-year-old opted not to risk his injury and Kyrgios is in agreement.
“I think Novak was looking better and better throughout the tournament but Alex De Minaur is playing the best tennis of his life,” the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up told the BBC.
“He has a great medical team and I would not advise him to go out there and play and potentially miss the remainder of the season when he is probably one of the favourites to go deep at the US Open as well, so I think he has made the right decision.
“The way Novak is playing and the way Demon is playing I think it would have at least been a four or five setter. I was going to call it, so I was super excited to go on today.”
‘Devastated’ Alex de Minaur announces Wimbledon withdrawal
De Minaur suffered the devastating injury in the final point of his match against Fils. The player believed he would be fit enough to play against Djokovic, but he lasted just 10 minutes in Wednesday’s practice session before knowing he would not be able to compete without aggravating the injury.
“I’m devastated,” De Minaur said. “I have to pull out due to a hip injury, a little tear of the fibrocartilage that is at the end or connects to the adductor.
“I felt a loud crack during the last three points of my match against Fils. I got a scan yesterday and it confirmed that this was the injury and with high risk of making it worse if I was to step on court.”
“It’s devastating, I haven’t really been able to enjoy what I’ve achieved this week because I knew once I felt that pop, I knew something bad had happened. In the grand scheme of things it could have been worse, so I’m trying to hold on to that.”
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
