"It definitely took the air out of the building for sure" - John McEnroe devastated over Nick Kyrgios' withdrawal from the Australian Open

John McEnroe says Nick Kyrgios’ withdrawal from the Australian Open was a “total bummer” that “took the air out of the building”.

Kyrgios pulled out of his home Grand Slam on the first day of the tournament due to a knee injury. The Aussie is not only one of tennis' great entertainers but appeared to be a potential contender for the title after an impressive 2022 season that included reaching the Wimbledon final.

“Total and absolute bummer,” former world No. 1 McEnroe told Eurosport. “Nick's been making progress that I wasn't sure he even thought [he could make] or I did… to get himself to compete consistently at a high level and give the type of effort you need to go after and possibly win a Grand Slam.

“I think we saw that because he was able to give this more consistent effort last year, when he was right in the mix. He got to the final of Wimbledon, he had a real shot to go all the way at the US Open, lost in the quarters, but looked great most of the tournament, and I'm sure that he was super pumped up because he's playing in his home country.”

Kyrgios has seemingly been battling the injury over the last month. He did not play any competitive matches in the lead-up to the Australian Open after withdrawing from the United Cup and then the Adelaide International.

He did practice with Novak Djokovic on Rod Laver Arena on Friday, but "didn't pull up great" according to his physio Will Maher. Kyrgios will also not be able to defend his Australian Open doubles title, which he won last year with Thanasi Kokkinakis.