Marin Cilic of Croatia poses with his trophy after defeating Kei Nishikori of Japan in their men's singles final match at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, September 8, 2014 (Photo: Reuters)
US Open champion Marin Cilic withdrew from the season's opening Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, on Saturday having failed to recover sufficiently from a right shoulder injury.
The 26-year-old Croatian, who had already been unable to play in the Brisbane Open because of the injury, announced his withdrawal via his Facebook page.
"I am really disappointed to announce that I had to withdraw from the Australian Open," wrote Cilic.
"The right shoulder injury, that hampers me for some time now and forced me to withdraw from the ATP event in Brisbane, is improving day by day, but I still don't feel fit enough to be able to compete at the highest level.
"I am really sad that I won't be able to participate in Melbourne, especially after winning the last Grand Slam in New York, but I was advised by doctors to be careful as much as possible to avoid even more serious problems."
The Australian Open starts in Melbourne on January 19.
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