Kei Nishikori out of Australian Open with elbow injury

A day after Andy Murray put his Grand Slam comeback on hold, Japan's Kei Nishikori has become latest high-profile player to withdraw from next month's Australian Open, citing a right elbow injury.

Tennis Australia issued a statement Monday saying Nishikori h withdrawn from season-opening major at Melbourne Park and from ATP Cup, a new international men's team event which starts next week and will be played in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.

world .13, who has t played since a third-round loss to Australia's Alex de Minaur at U.S. Open, required mir elbow surgery in off-season.

“Today, toger with my team, we have me this decision as I am still t 100 per cent rey (or) healthy to compete at highest level,” Nishikori said. “This decision was t taken lightly as Australia is one of my favorite places to compete.”

"Toger with my team I will keep working hard to be back on court as soon as possible. Thanks for all support."

Nishikori, who reached a career-high rank of .4 in 2015, is a four-time Australian Open quarterfinalist (2012, 2015, 2016, 2019) with a 29-7 record at Melbourne Park.

Murray, a three-time major winner,