The news was in the air but now the confirmations have arrived: Novak Djokovic will skip the Mutua Madrid Open, third ATP Masters 1000 of the season, to return directly to the Italian Open in Rome, in view of the Roland Garros.
The ATP No.1 has decided to change his plans fundamentally to arrive in decent psycho-physical conditions for the Roland Garros, his great goal this season.
#Djokovic withdraws from Madrid, as expected.
— Saša Ozmo (@ozmo_sasa) April 20, 2024
The Serbian star has thus shown once again that he has particular attention for the Grand Slam tournaments and the Paris Olympics, deciding to bet everything on these two events (and, obviously, on Wimbledon, where he tries to equal Roger’s record Federer).
Jannik Sinner, for the first time in his career, will start as the No.1 seed in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament and consequently, given the draw to be held on Monday, the Italian will only be able to face his great rival Carlos Alcaraz possibly in the final.
The Spaniard himself has physical problems and will only decide in the next few hours whether he will participate in the tournament or not. This important news also applies to the ATP Ranking, with Sinner having the possibility of earning points to attack Djokovic’s ATP No.1 at the Roland Garros. Jannik has a great chance to get closer to a milestone never happened in history of Italian tennis.
Novak Djokovic, Monte Carlo 2016© Michael Steele / Staff – Getty Images Sport
Djokovic will focus on Rome and, especially, on the Roland Garros
Djokovic is still without titles this season and hs was the protagonist of several bad defeats, the last one in Monte Carlo against Casper Ruud, this time in the semifinals. In short, a particular decision, Djokovic will almost certainly return in Rome.
The goal is to improve his condition, train and find a better condition in view of the next tournaments, the Slam where he will defend many points and also the Olympics, the priority of the season.
Novak Djokovic© Julian Finney / Staff Getty Images Sport
Between Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros, however, Sinner could gain many points in terms of ranking. It must be said that Jannik specified that he will consider the tournament in the Spanish capital almost as a training session and that he would be fine playing only two or three matches.
Sinner has achieved important results this season, he has won three tournaments and has almost always reached the end.
He has only suffered two defeats so far, in the semi-final at Indian Wells and in the much-discussed semi-final in Monte-Carlo, a knockout against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
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