French world No.24 Gael Monfils has withdrawn from the upcoming Hopman Cup due to a leg injury.
Monfils was scheduled to team up with Caroline Garcia at the team event in Perth. He has been struggling with injury since the IPTL earlier this month. At the event he was also forced to withdraw from competition due to a thigh injury. Monfils will now be replaced by world No.148 Kenny De Schepper. The 29-year-old expressed his disappointment of withdrawing from the event in a statement published on the Hopman Cup website.
“I’m disappointed that I have to withdraw from the Hopman Cup,” Monfils said .
“I was really looking forward to travelling to Perth for the first time and teaming up with Caroline Garcia.
“I wish Kenny and Caroline the best of luck and hope they can hold up that prestigious trophy.”
The Frenchman is currently not scheduled to participate in any other event prior to the Australian Open, which starts on January 18th. It is still unclear how severe the injury is and if it could jeopardize his appearance at the first grand slam of 2016.
The withdrawal is the latest blow to French tennis fans. On Tuesday it was confirmed that Richard Gasquet will miss the Australian Open due to a back injury. Gasquet hopes to kick-off his 2016 campaign in February at a trio of European indoor events.
The newly-formed duo of Garcia and Schepper will begin their Hopman Cup bid against Great Britain on January 4th. The British team consists of Andy Murray and Heather Watson. The other two teams in their group are Australia Green (Nick Kyrgios/Daria Gavrilova) and Germany (Alexander Zverev/Sabine Lisicki).
