Novak Djokovic withdraws from Madrid Open, Jannik Sinner top seed in Masters 1000

Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the upcoming Madrid Open, scheduled to take place from April 24 to May 5. After the 36-year-old pulled out, Jannik Sinner will now be the top seed in the clay-court tournament. It is also the first time that Sinner, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, is the No.1 seed at an ATP 1000 event.

In place of Djokovic, the organisers named Belgium’s Luca Van Assche from France as a replacement. Djokovic last played in the Monte-Carlo Masters where he lost to Casper Ruud in the semi-final earlier this month. The veteran is a 3-time winner of the men’s singles title in Madrid after he came up trumps in 2011, 2016 and 2019.

Djokovic also missed the championship last year. Had he played this year, he could have had a chance of facing Rafael Nadal, who recently made a comeback in Barcelona.

Carlos Alcaraz won the Madrid Open last year, but his participation this season is still under the clouds. The youngster recently missed the Monte Carlo Masters due to an injury on his right forearm. He is also racing against time to get fit for the French Open, scheduled to be played from Monday, May 20.

As far as Djokovic is concerned, he is the defending champion of the French Open and will be looking to put up a similar performance. Recently, he broke Roger Federer’s record for the oldest No.1 in the history of the sport in men’s singles. He also completed 400 weeks as the World No.1, the first to do so.