CHENNAI, Jan 7: World number five Nikolay Davydenko of Russia said on Wednesday he had withdrawn from this month’s Australian Open and the ongoing Chennai Open due to a persistent heel injury.

Davydenko, top seed at the 450,000-dollar event in Chennai, said he would consult doctors before deciding when he could return to the circuit.

“I am pulling out both the Chennai Open and the Australian Open because my left heel has been very painful over the last few days,” the 27-year-old Russian said.

“I will see specialists before I can say when I will return to the circuit. The pain in the left heel started last year.

“It also bothered me during the Masters Cup in Shanghai in November where I reached the final.

“Last week when I was in Abu Dhabi, the pain became worse. Now I cannot run, so there is no way I can play tennis. There is no pain when I am not playing. But if I play for a few days, it increases. I don’t know what is happening.

“I need to get my heel checked. So there was no way I can play at the Australian Open,” he expressed. “I usually do not miss big tournaments, but the pain left me with no option to miss Chennai and Australia.”

The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, is due to start in Melbourne on Jan 19.—AFP