Kyrgios pulls out of Japan Open due to knee injury; Fritz advances to semis

The Australian’s withdrawal is a severe blow to his chances of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals in singles

Nick Kyrgios at the 2022 Japan Open in Tokyo

October 7, 2022

Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of the singles & doubles event at the Japan Open in Tokyo on Friday minutes before he was due to take on American Taylor Fritz in the singles quarter-finals.

Kyrgios’ withdrawal puts the third seeded Fritz into the semi-finals of the ATP 500 event where he will meet either seventh seed Denis Shapovalov or ninth seed Borna Coric.

The Australian was also due to play the doubles semi-final in Tokyo tomorrow with compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis. But their withdrawal, due to a knee issue, puts Marcelo Melo and Mackenzie McDonald into Sunday’s final.

Kyrgios confirms it's his usual knee injury.

"It's the better option for my body. I have to be smart and after hitting with Thanasi today I feel that this is the best thing to do. I have a couple of tournaments at the end of the year and wanna do well there".
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 7, 2022

Kyrgios’ withdrawal massive blow for Turin hopes

The Australian’s withdrawal comes as a massive blow to his chances to qualify for the season-ending Turin ATP Finals in singles.

Kyrgios is currently in 18th position in the race to Turin with 1,870 points. With Novak Djokovic all but guaranteed a spot due to his Wimbledon triumph (the Serb needs to remain in the top 20 in the race to seal his berth as a Grand Slam champion in 2022), Kyrgios currently trails seventh placed Felix Auger-Aliassime (who has 2,860 points) by 990 points.

With two more events on his schedule – the ATP 500 in Basel and the Paris Masters 1000 Series – Kyrgios will need to win both the events and hope Auger-Aliassime struggles to win matches in his upcoming tournaments to keep any of his Turin hopes alive.

Kyrgios remains in the hunt for a doubles berth in Turin as he and partner Kokkinakis are in sixth position after their semi-final finish in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, this will be Fritz’s third semi-final of the season. The American has won the title both the previous times he reached the last four (Indian Wells and Eastbourne) of a tournament.