Novak Djokovic withdraws from Madrid Masters for second consecutive year
Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Madrid Open, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion electing to skip the ATP Masters 1000 tournament for a second consecutive year.
Djokovic began his clay court season at the Monte Carlo Masters, with the world No.1 achieving his best result at the tournament since 2015 after reaching the semi-finals before losing to Casper Ruud.
The Serbian was top of the entry list for the Madrid Open, but it has now been revealed that he will skip the event.
See you soon, @DjokerNole ????
With Djokovic's withdrawal, Sinner will be the No.1 seed at a Masters 1000 for the first time#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/Nie2HnulFp
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 20, 2024
It was a similar situation last year for Djokovic, who has not played at the tournament since 2021 when he reached the semi-finals.
Djokovic is a three-time champion in the Spanish capital, with only Rafael Nadal winning more titles than him at the tournament, but has only competed once at the event in the past five years.
As a result, the 36-year-old will be replaced by Frenchman Luca Van Assche and Jannik Sinner will now become the top seed when the draw is conducted tomorrow.
Djokovic is next scheduled to compete at the Italian Open, that will begin on Wednesday 8th May.
Inside the baseline…
It is not a huge surprise that Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from Madrid, considering that he has only played the tournament once since winning the title back in 2019. Considering that Madrid is quite different conditions to Roland Garros, where Djokovic will have his sights set on winning, it is not a particularly concerning withdrawal and he will be expected to return in Rome where the conditions are more similar to the Paris major.
READ MORE – Madrid Open 2024 Preview: When is it, who is playing & what is the prize money?
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