Former world No.10 Kevin Anderson has withdrawn from the upcoming BNP Paribas Masters due to a shoulder injury.
The South African has endured a nightmare start to 2016 with a series of injury woes. Anderson was scheduled to kick his season off at the Chennai Open before withdrawing from the event due to a right knee injury. That same injury also forced him to retire during his first round round encounter against Rajeev Ram at the Australian Open.
Anderson’s latest comeback bid ended with another injury problem. Playing at the Delray Beach Open, he retired after losing the first set tiebreak against Austin Krajicek due to a shoulder injury. Following his loss, the South African told the media in America that he developed the injury during his rehabilitation.
“I’ve been trying really hard to get back, and doing so I think maybe I’ve compensated a little bit and my right shoulder has taken a bit of excess strain, especially on my serve.” Anderson recently said.
The Shoulder issues are still ongoing for Anderson, who has been forced to withdrawn from the first Masters tournament of 2016. He has a solid record at the tournament in Indian Wells, reaching the quarterfinals on two occasions. He confirmed his withdrawal on his Twitter account.
Disappointed to announce my withdrawal from @BNPPARIBASOPEN. I am at home in Delray working hard to get healthy & back in competition soon
— Kevin Anderson (@kevinanderson18) 6 March 2016
Struggling with injury, the 29-year-old has only managed to finish two matches on the tour this year, winning one of them against Robin Haase at the Auckland Open.
“Obviously, it’s been a very frustrating start to the season. At this point, I don’t think it’s worth pushing too soon.” The world No.15 said.
Last year Anderson reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open. In October that year he achieved his best ranking position of 10th in the world. The next scheduled event for Anderson will be the Miami Open but it is uncertain if he will be fit in time for the tournament.
The South African is the latest player to withdraw from Indian Wells. Other noticeable absentees from this year’s event also include Roger Federer (knee), Fabio Fognini (abdominal injury) and David Ferrer (fatigue).
