Tag: Madrid Masters

MADRID: World number one Novak Djokovic pulled out of the Madrid Masters on Saturday according to the competition’s organisers.

“Novak Djokovic is unable to compete at the Madrid Open,” the organisers wrote on Instagram ahead of the tournament which starts April 26.

Djokovic’s withdrawal, thought to be related to an elbow problem he has been suffering from, is a blow to his preparations for the French Open, which starts at the end of May.

The Serb, 35, suffered a straight-set defeat by compatriot Dusan Lajovic in the quarter-finals at Banja Luka in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday.

Djokovic was beaten by underdog Lorenzo Musetti at the Monte Carlo Masters earlier in April and said ahead of the Srpska Open that his elbow was “not in an ideal condition”.

Neither Djokovic or Rafael Nadal, joint record 22-time Grand Slam champions, will take part in Madrid, a key part of the preparation for Roland Garros.

Djokovic missed tournaments earlier this year at Indian Wells and Miami, over his refusal to get a Covid-19 vaccination.

“I was many levels below what I want,” said the two-time French Open champion on Friday, after his defeat by world number 70 Lajovic.

“Playing like that, I can’t win against opponents who are so solid on this surface. But what can I do? It’s simply sport. I was trying but it wasn’t working.

“I didn’t feel very good physically on court. My legs were slow, I missed a lot of balls. I played well at times, but generally well below standard.”

MADRID: Rafael Nadal said Thursday he will miss next week’s Madrid Masters as he continues to struggle to recover from a hip injury, dealing a significant blow to his French Open preparations.

“For the moment I’ve missed Monte Carlo and Barcelona. And unfortunately I won’t be able to be in Madrid either,” Nadal said on Instagram.

“The injury still hasn’t healed,” he added.

The 36-year-old Spaniard has not played since losing in the second round of the Australian Open in January.

Nadal is hoping for a record-extending 15th French Open title at Roland Garros in May, but his hip flexor problem he suffered in Melbourne has badly disrupted his run up to the tournament.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion — he shares the men’s record with Novak Djokovic — had originally thought he would be out for up to two months.

He pulled out of hard-court tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami, with his sights set on a return at the start of the clay-court season, but it did not come to fruition.

“In principle it was supposed to be a recovery period of six to eight weeks and now we’re around 14,” said Nadal.

“The reality is that the situation is not what we would have hoped for. All medical indications have been followed, but the healing has not gone as they told us initially and we find ourselves in a difficult situation.”

Nadal said he and his team have decided to try a different treatment and see if things improve, but that he was not setting a deadline for his comeback.

“I can’t work on what I need to compete. I was training but a few days ago we decided to change course a bit, to try another treatment and see if things improve to try to get to what comes next.”

“I can’t give deadlines because if I knew I would tell you, but I don’t know,” he added. “This is how things are now.”

Nadal’s fitness problems have become an increasing issue since he won his 14th French Open crown last year.

At Wimbledon last summer he was forced to withdraw from his semi-final because of an abdominal injury.

Last month he dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since 2005, and is currently ranked 14th.

The French Open starts on May 28, with Nadal now in a race against time to be fit for the Rome Masters — the last major tune-up event before Roland Garros.

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