NEW YORK: Canadian Denis Shapovalov and Croatia’s Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion have withdrawn from the next US Open, officials said on Wednesday.
Despite doing everything possible to be 100% healthy in time for @usopen, my knee needs more time and I sadly have to withdraw. That grand slam energy, especially in NYC, is unlike anything else and I’m really going to miss playing in front of the amazing fans there this year! 💔 pic.twitter.com/aQmAvF7DUs
— Denis Shapovalov (@denis_shapo) August 16, 2023
They were sidelined from the mega event on the New York hardcourts because of knee injuries, AFP reported. Croatia’s Cilic was a French Open semi-finalist in 2022 and also ranked as high as 3rd in the world.
But Cilic has fallen to 121st in the ATP world rankings and has played only twice in the current season, recently losing a first-round game in July at Umag.
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Shapovalov won his only ATP title in 2019 in Stockholm. However, the world number 22 has not played since a run to the last 16 at Wimbledon in July.
In a statement via his social media account, he said that despite doing everything possible to be hundred per cent healthy in time for the US Open, his knee needs more time and sadly has to withdraw.
South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo and Hungary’s Attila Balazs replaced Shapovalov and Cilic in the US Open main draw.
