Krickstein Hurt, Could Miss Davis Cup

Aaron Krickstein limped out of the Australian Open today (Monday), his title bid wrecked by a groin injury that also threatens his place on the U.S. Davis Cup team.

Krickstein plays singles on the U.S. squad, which faces Mexico in a first-round Davis Cup match at the La Costa resort in Carlsbad, Calif., on Feb. 2-4.

Unseeded David Wheaton defeated Krickstein, seeded fifth, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-3, in the fourth round. But Krickstein clearly was hampered by the injury to the left side of his groin, which he suffered late in his third-round victory over Swede Lars Wahlgren.

“I hoped I’d be able to play through it,” Krickstein said. “It was OK for a set but at 2-2 in the second I hurt it again.

“I’ve strained it pretty bad and I couldn’t move very well to my right at all.

“It was hard to concentrate. I knew I wasn’t 100% by any means. I was just hoping with treatment it would be OK.”

Krickstein said he was not certain about his Davis Cup status.

“You never know,” he said. “The injury is high on the bone and it’s a tough one to treat. I’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the next few days.”

Wheaton, the last American in the men’s singles, said he was aware late in the match that Krickstein was not moving freely.

“I could see his lunging ability really wasn’t there,” he said.

Wheaton’s advance to the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career continued the 20-year-old Minneapolis resident’s meteoric rise.

He was ranked 441st at the end of 1988, but has risen to 66th just 12 months later.