Novak Djokovic has confirmed that he will not play the Mutua Madrid Open next week, the next Masters 1,000 in the clay season. "I'm continuing my recovery in order to be back soon. Hasta pronto!", the 38-year-old Serbian posted on X, extending his absence from the tournament since losing to Jack Draper in the round of 16 of Indian Wells.
Djokovic was actually seen in Madrid last night, where he attended a Real Madrid basketball game in the Euroleague, sitting next to Luka Doncic. He was also training in Marbella, but said to reporters that he may miss the tournament due to an injury. He has confirmed now that he will skip the event.
This year, his only other tournament was the Australian Open, where he reached the final but lost to Carlos Alcaraz. At his age, his main goal is to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam, so he will focus to regain shape for Roland Garros, between May 18 and June 7.
The draw for Madrid Open takes place next Monday. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are scheduled to participate, but wouldn't be surprising if they withdraw too: Sinner due to overload of matches and Alcaraz because of the wrist injury that already caused him to retire from Barcelona Open.
