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Friday, August 17 Updated: August 21, 4:03 AM ET Three ailing stars pull out of Open ESPN.com news services |
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NEW YORK -- Australian Mark Philippoussis became the latest big name to announce that he has withdrawn from next week's U.S. Open because of injury. Philippoussis, who cited complications with his injured knee, joins big-serving Dutchman Richard Krajicek and last year's French Open finalist Magnus Norman, who both announced last week they would not play because of injuries.
Philippoussis, who had knee surgery four months ago, had been hoping to make his return to competitive tennis before the last Grand Slam of the year.
"He wasn't that far away from playing at the U.S. Open but he was running out of tournaments," Philippoussis's manager John McCurdy said.
"You really need some sort of preparation to go into a grand slam event."
Philippoussis, U.S. Open finalist in 1998, has been plagued with injuries for the past year and has not played a Grand Slam since injuring his knee at Wimbledon last year.
He missed January's Australian Open in his hometown of Melbourne but made a successful comeback a month later when he won a tournament in Memphis.
But the 24-year-old broke down again after playing just 10 matches for the year, requiring knee surgery mid-season.
He had been hoping to get back on the court in time for the U.S. Open, starting in New York on August 27, but does not want to take any risks. Krajicek, 29, has been sidelined for several months with an elbow injury. He is ranked 93rd in the ATP Entry System after skipping the first half of the 2001 season. Norman, 25, is out with a persistent hip injury. The 24th-ranked Swede, who reached the semifinals at Bastad in July, will undergo surgery next week that will sideline him for the rest of the season. |
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