Nick Kyrgios withdraws from Houston
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios won't be opening his clay-court season in Houston as he has withdrawn from the tournament.
The 23-year-old debuted on the clay-courts of Houston last year.
The Australian's debut campaign in Houston ended with a quarter-final showing.
Kyrgios, who had a first-round bye in Houston, beat home-favorite Bjorn Fratangelo in the round-of-16 before he lost to Croatia's Ivo Karlovic in his following match.
Kyrgios last played at the Miami Masters, which he exited on Tuesday.
The Australian was beaten by No. 11 seed Borna Coric on the Miami round-of-16.
The 23-year-old won the opening set but still lost as Coric claimed a 4-6 6-3 6-2 win.
Following the withdrawal of Kyrgios, a place in the Houston main draw has opened for Italian Paolo Lorenzi.
The Italian, who debuted at the Houston event in 2012, is set to make his fifth appearance at the tournament and the first one since 2016.
The 37-year-old's career-best result in Houston came in 2013, when he made the quarter-final before losing to Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.
Lorenzi didn't impress in his last two Houston appearances, having picked up back-to-back first round exits at the tournament in 2015 and 2016.
Lorenzi, ranked at No. 107 in the world, has already gotten some action on clay this year as he picked up first round exits in Cordoba and Sao Paulo.
It remains to be seen can Lorenzo achieve a notable result in Houston this year.
The Houston event is due to be held from April 08-14.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2JJp0vr
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