PALMA, Spain ( Associated Press) — Nick Kyrgios withdrew from the Mallorcan championship on Wednesday with a stomach injury, saying he didn’t want to make things worse before Wimbledon.
The 45th-placed Australian made the announcement before the round of 16 match against Roberto Bautista Agut.
“I’ve had a lot of great matches lately and unfortunately I woke up with a stomach ache. I immediately went to the tournament doctor and he advised me not to play tonight,” Kyrgios said. “I really appreciate the Mallorcan championship, but I will follow his advice because I don’t want to risk Wimbledon next week.”
It took Kyrgios more than two hours to defeat Laszlo Jere 5-7, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (1) in the previous round of the Wimbledon grassroots tournament.
The Australian was one of Mallorca’s main attractions, along with Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas started with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 40 Ilya Ivashka on Wednesday without a break point.
“I felt like after my first serve, I was really able to get behind the ball and pick the right spots,” said Tsitsipas. “I think it was very difficult for the opponent to adapt to this. I did it very well. I was very dedicated to it. It was really good for me from start to finish.”
Next, Tsitsipas, who took sixth place, will meet with the American Marcos Giron, who defeated compatriot Mackenzie McDonald with a score of 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Medvedev will make his debut against Aslan Karatsev later on Wednesday.
___
More Associated Press tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports