Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Nick Kyrgios has been overlooked for the final singles wildcards at Wimbledon, with the 2022 finalist having to settle for a doubles spot at this year’s edition of the grass-court grand slam alongside his fellow maverick Alexander Bublik.
Kyrgios was always a long shot to be given one of the All England club’s coveted eight singles invites after such a long struggle with injury woes, but his impressive comeback in Stuttgart last week where he won his first singles match for 15 months against French world No.36 Corentin Moutet raised hopes.
But another knee problem forced him to pull out of the latest stage of his comeback in Halle, Germany, on Tuesday — a projected first-round clash with top seed Ben Shelton — with Wimbledon announcing 24 hours later that the last two men’s singles wildcards were going to Britons Harry Wendelken and Felix Gill.
The first six wildcards had been announced on Tuesday, with Swiss favourite Stan Wawrinka and veteran Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov both earning an invite.
British favourite Dan Evans has also missed out, hoping to make his final singles appearance at SW19, so he’ll have to make it through qualifying.
Veteran French star Gael Monfils, always a popular visitor at Wimbledon, was overlooked in his final season too.
Like Kyrgios, though, Evans will play in the men’s doubles. While the Australian will join forces with the equally mercurial Kazakh Bublik in what’s bound to be a colourful partnership if the Canberra maverick has overcome his latest injury, the Briton will be partnered by compatriot Henry Searle.
Meanwhile, Lorenzo Musetti, a 2024 semi-finalist at Wimbledon, has announced he won’t be competing in the event that starts on June 29 as he continues to recover from the thigh injury which also kept the Italian out of the French Open.
Musetti hasn’t played since losing to Casper Ruud in the fourth round of the Italian Open in Rome in mid-May.
“Unfortunately, as I have not yet been able to begin a full athletic training program, and after careful evaluation, we have come to the difficult conclusion that I will not be able to participate in Wimbledon this year,” said Musetti on Instagram.
Maja Chwalinska was the deserved recipient of a wildcard for the women’s singles after his heroics in reaching the French Open final as a qualifier, while forty-something siblings Serena and Venus Williams were invited to compete as a pairing in the women’s doubles.
