Sydney: A knee injury has forced Frenchman Gilles Simon to pull out of the Australian Open, starting on Monday.
Simon has had trouble with his right knee since last year`s French Open but had hoped to play in Australia before the injury flared up again on Saturday.
Simon reached the quarter-finals at last year`s Australian Open, his best result at a grand slam, and was seeded 15th for the first major tournament of 2010. He was drawn to play Portugal`s Frederico Gil in the second round and organisors are yet to name a replacement. Bureau Report