Nick Kyrgios’s Australian Open title dream is over before it even began after the big home hope was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury.

Kyrgios’s long-time physio Will Maher says the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up has a cyst growing on his meniscus.

While it’s not a career-threatening injury, Kyrgios is not sufficiently fit to contest his home grand slam.

“I’m devastated,” Kyrgios said.

“Going in as one of the favourites, it’s brutal.”

He had been due to play Russian Roman Safiullan in the first round on Tuesday night but Maher said the 19th seed had made the sensible decision to pull out.

“Unfortunately, during the last week or so Nick’s experienced some discomfort in his knee,” Maher said.

“He had routine MRI just to make sure everything was OK. There’s a parameniscal cyst growing on his lateral meniscus, which is a result of a small tear in his lateral meniscus.

“It’s not a significant injury in the sense that it’s going to be career threatening or anything like that.

“It was even at that stage it was still worth persevering to see if we could do anything to get him back on court.

“And to Nick’s credit, he did try everything to the point even last week, he was having a procedure to drain the cyst and any amount of injections that he could try and get in his knee without causing long-term damage.”

Kyrgios used a charity exhibition match against Novak Djokovic last Friday night as a gauge to see if he could compete at the highest level.

“He didn’t pull up great,” Maher said.

“He still tried to give himself every chance in the following days to have subsequent training but it was clear that with each passing session that he was getting sorer and sorer.

“So we’ve made a sensible decision to withdraw him because, at this stage, he wants to feel mentally comfortable that he can go seven matches … getting on the court simply wasn’t enough.”

Kyrgios will return home to Canberra to recover.

“He’ll have an arthroscopic procedure to to clean up his lateral meniscus remove the cyst,” Maher said.

“And then from there, it’s relatively straightforward recovery through February for him and very realistically back on the court for Indian Wells so it won’t interrupt his year tremendously.

“The prognosis is good and he’ll be fine.”

Kyrgios’s scratching is another hammer blow to the Melbourne Park major, which was already ravaged by superstar withdrawals and retirements.

Women’s titleholder Ash Barty, seven-times champion Serena Williams, her sister Venus, dual winner Naomi Osaka and retired legend Roger Federer are all missing in 2023.

Australia’s highest-ranked woman Ajla Tomljanovic also pulled out on Saturday with a knee injury.

But Kyrgios’s absence is undoubtedly the biggest setback yet for organisers.

Love or loathe the 27-year-old, tennis’s most polarising figure is compelling viewing.

After inspired runs to last year’s Wimbledon final and US Open quarter-finals, Kyrgios had high hopes of breaking his grand slam duck in Melbourne.

“I’m just exhausted from everything. One of the most important tournaments of my career. Hasn’t been easy at all,” he said of the decision to pull out.