A downcast Alex Dolgopolov fears he’s set to miss the Australian Open and will require another round of knee surgery after breaking down in the final of the Kooyong Classic.

The Ukrainian 21st seed re-injured the same knee which sidelined him for 10 weeks last July.

Dolgopolov started clutching at his right knee during the tie-break of his opening set against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, which he lost 7-3.

He called for a trainer before retiring, handing Verdasco the title.

The world No.23 was drawn on Friday to face Italian Paolo Lorenzi in round one at Melbourne Park next week but thought he had torn his meniscus for the second time in less than a year.

The 26-year-old said the injury felt the same as he suffered playing in Hamburg, which required surgery and a long stint working his way back to full fitness.

“When I was warming up and playing the first set it was fine and the last few games I started feeling something strange in the knee and it started to get worse,” he said.

“I’m not sure I’ll be playing in the Open because it feels quite the same like I did before the surgery.

“My physio is saying 99 per cent the meniscus that I injured before so I’m not too happy right now.”

He will undergo an MRI scan later on Friday before making a decision on playing next week.

Dolgopolov reached the quarter finals of the Australian Open in 2011 and was knocked out in the second round last year.

It was the second time Verdasco had won the Kooyong crown, after also taking out the eight-man invitational tournament in 2010.

The 31-year-old world No.33 was more concerned about his good mate Dolgopolov than how the shortened match would affect his Open preparation.

“He’s a good friend on tour and you never want something like what happened today,” Verdasco said.

“I just wish him to recover and to be able to play next week and for me I can practice as many hours as I want.”

Verdasco, who played an epic five-hour semi-final against Rafael Nadal in 2009, has drawn Brit James Ward in round one.

The pair train together in Spain which he said made the match-up tough.

“He has been practicing there so you never want to play against the players who you have better relations with but when the tournament starts you don’t really have friends.

“I’m feeling good and that’s the most important thing for me and hopefully that will make a good Open.”