Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn injured from the Nice Open, just days before the French Open.

Kyrgios is racing the clock to be fully fit for the claycourt showpiece after retiring from his second-round match at the Nice Open with right elbow soreness.

The two-time grand slam quarter-finalist was trailing Dominic Thiem​ of Austria 4-3 when he called it quits, refusing to take any risks three days out from the start of the year’s second major in Paris.

Kyrgios played down the injury, posting on social media that it was tough to retire, and describing it as “nothing major” and just a precaution ahead of the French Open, which starts on Sunday.

“I’ve played a lot of tennis recently and need to look after myself ahead of [Roland Garros],” he wrote on Facebook.

Thiem goes on to face third-seeded defending champion Ernests Gulbis​, who beat Ukraine’s Alexandr​ Dolgopolov​ in three sets.

“I expected a very tough match and I’m really sorry for Nick,” Thiem said. “But I have to take it like this and of course I’m happy to be in the quarter-finals.”

It was a day of mixed fortunes for Australia’s French Open hopefuls, James Duckworth cashed in on the withdrawal of top seed Gilles Simon to reach the quarter-finals for just the second time at an ATP event.

Source: AAP