Stan Wawrinka to miss the rest of 2017

Defending champion of the US Open, Stanislas Wawrinka will be missing in action when hostility kicks off at the end of the month in New York.

The 32year-old swiss who is a three time grand slam winner and has this season reach the final of the Australian Open and semi-final of the French Open will be out because of injury and hope to have enough rest before the turn of the year.

The world No.4 was knocked out of the first round of Wimbledon by Daniil Medvedev, and was suffering from a knee injury. He has since undergone surgery and says he will not recover this year.

“I am sad to announce that after talking with my team and doctor I had to make a difficult decision to undergo a medical intervention on my knee. This was the only solution to make sure I will be able to compete at the top level for many more years,” he said.

“This is obviously extremely disappointing, but I’m already looking ahead and planning my recovery. I love this sport and I will work hard to get back to my top level and play many more years. I also want to take this opportunity to thank my fans for sending plenty of messages of support during the last couple of days. I will see you all in 2018.”

The swiss will be aiming to be back and ready for the first grand slam of the year by January in Australia.

Another player who will be missing the last grand slam of the year is 12-time major winner Novak Djokovic who made his own announcement last week.

HOME-BOY NICK KYRGIOS KNOCKED OUT OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Nick Kyrgios was knocked out of his home Grand Slam as he blew a two-set lead and a match point in losing to Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open.

The 32year-old Italian, Seppi triumphed 1-6 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-2 10-8 against the typically unpredictable Australian.

Kyrgios was given two warnings, for swearing and racquet abuse, before the 89th-ranked Seppi clinched victory.
The 21-year-old Australian was in control before losing his temper as he complained of a knee injury midway through the third set.

Kyrgios won a five-set scrap with Seppi on the same court in 2015 to reach the quarter-finals, but the roles were reversed here.

Kyrgios, returning to tennis at the Australian Open after a ban for not trying at the Shanghai Masters ended his 2016 season, was given a warning for swearing and later docked a point for his second code violation after launching his racquet into the ground in frustration.

ANGELIQUE KERBER IS AIMING TO DEFEND HER AUSTRALIAN OPEN TITLE

World number one and defending champion Angelique Kerber survived an onslaught from fellow German Carina Witthoeft to advance to the 2017 Australian Open third round.

She is a top-seed at a Grand Slam for the first time, and did struggled with her serve in a second-set tie-break before prevailing 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 over the 21year-old Carina.

Also, she had started the year in less-than-convincing style, going out in the
last eight in Brisbane and the second round in Sydney just few days before the first grand slam of the year.

"To have this pressure is a privilege," she said. "It's completely new for me, but I'm doing well. I'm just trying to enjoy it."

Kerber who was 29 on Wednesday and had the crowd singing her "Happy Birthday" will be facing Czech Kristyna Pliskova next.