Kevin Anderson’s injury-riddled 2016 season has continued into the new year after he confirmed his absence from the upcoming Australian Open.
The former top 10 player is yet to play a match in 2017 after pulling out of the Brisbane International due to a hip injury. Yet to recover from his latest problem, the 30-year-old has opted to skip the Melbourne tournament for the first time in his career, ending a run of nine consecutive appearances.
“Unfortunately I have just made the very tough decision to withdraw from the Australian Open. I am really sad to miss one of my favourite events each season,” wrote the 2.03m (6ft 8in) player who is South Africa’s only player in the top 100. “I am still recovering from an injury sustained last year but things are looking much better and I will be back in competition soon.” Anderson wrote on social media.
Reaching a career high of 10th in the world following his run to the quarter-finals at the 2015 US Open, Anderson has been hampered by injury issues since. Last year he missed almost three months of action after undergoing surgery on his ankle and shoulder. On top of the surgery, he also had to contend with a left knee issue hindering him.
Following the series of setbacks, the South African has fallen to 70th in the world in 2015, his lowest position since 2010. As a result of his latest withdrawal, he is likely to fall below that position in the near future.
Chung takes Anderson’s place
Replacing Anderson in the main draw will be South Korea’s Hyeon Chung. Chung made his debut at the Australian Open last year when he lost in the first round to Novak Djokovic. Since then the 20-year-old has won two Challenger titles. More recently at the Chennai Open in India, Chung come through two rounds of qualifying before defeating sixth seed Borna Coric in the first round. His Indian campaign ended with a second round loss to Israel’s Dudi Sela.
