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De Minaur out of men’s tennis singles at Paris Games due to Wimbledon hip injury

De Minaur out of men’s tennis singles at Paris Games due to Wimbledon hip injury

Alex de Minaur has withdrawn from his Olympic singles first round clash with German Jan-Lennard Struff, opting to focus on doubles as he manages his hip injury.

The Australian number one suffered the injury at Wimbledon, tearing his hip cartilage in the dying moments of his round-of-16 win over Arthur Fils.

ABC Sport is live blogging every day of the Paris Olympics

He pulled out of his quarterfinal against Novak Djokovic, with the injury appearing to threaten his dream Olympic debut after he flagged a three to six-week recovery.

But the world number six made it to Paris, desperate to play having been heartbreakingly forced out of the Tokyo Games at the last minute in 2021 after contracting COVID-19.

De Minaur admitted he was still rehabbing the injury but hoped to wear the green and gold on clay in the France capital, having reached the quarter-finals at the French Open.

However, the AOC announced early on Sunday morning (local time) he had withdrawn from his singles match scheduled for later in the day.

“He has tried to do everything possible to get himself ready to play singles at the Olympics,” an AOC spokesperson said.

“He will prioritise men’s doubles alongside his childhood friend Alexei Popyrin.”

De Minaur and Popyrin face American fourth seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in their first match.

Former Australian tennis player John Millman flagged before the Games that de Minaur was more likely to opt out of the singles and play doubles if the injury had not fully healed.

“Alex won’t take to the court unless he is 100 per cent ready to go. He doesn’t want to risk re-injuring that,’ Millman told the ABC Tennis podcast last week.

The Olympic tennis event is being played at Roland Garros until August 4.

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AAP/ABC

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