Australia’s Nick Kyrgios said it was “heartbreaking” to pull out of the Japan Open ahead of his quarter final because of a knee issue that he has been grappling with since last month’s US Open.

Kyrgios was due to face Taylor Fritz in Friday night’s match but pulled out shortly before, sending the American through to the semi-finals to face Denis Shapovalov.

The 27-year-old Australian has had a terrific run of form in the second half of 2022, including reaching his first major final at Wimbledon and the US Open quarter finals.

“I’ve been playing amazing tennis all year and actually was dealing with a bit of a knee issue around the US Open time,” world No. 20 Kyrgios told reporters. “I got back home and probably didn’t take enough time off, to be honest. I went straight back into training. When your body lets you down, it’s not a good feeling.”