Former runner-up Marin Cilic withdrew from the Australian Open on Wednesday after failing to recover from a knee injury.
“Not a great start to 2023 and few tough days in Melbourne. Devastated I can’t play this year at @AustralianOpen but health comes first. See you next year Melbourne,” tweeted the 34-year-old Croatian.
Cilic was defeated by Roger Federer in a five-set final in 2018 at Melbourne Park.
The world number 18 suffered a knee injury at the ATP event in Pune last week and was forced to withdraw after just one match.
He joins injured world number one Carlos Alcaraz in skipping the opening Grand Slam event of the year which gets underway on Monday.
