Philippoussis out of Australian Open

Mark Philippoussis has been ruled out of this month's Australian Open after a scan revealed he had torn knee cartilage in his Hopman Cup match in Perth on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old Australian, who would have needed a wildcard to play at the Melbourne Park grand slam, had a scan yesterday and was diagnosed with a torn lateral meniscus cartilage in his right knee and will require surgery.

"I knew something was terribly wrong," a forlorn, wheelchair-bound Philippoussis said.

"I went for a wide one and knew I had done something wrong straight away. I woke up this morning at 6 a.m. and I could not move my knee and I'm still in a lot of pain."

The world number 114 confirmed he would be undergoing surgery in Sydney today and made no predictions about a possible return to the court.

"This is another setback and something I've got to deal with," he said.

The former Wimbledon and US Open finalist, who had surgery three times on his left knee between 1999 and 2001, jarred his knee while reaching for a backhand in the fourth game of his match against France's Jerome Haehnel in Perth.