While he was to return to competition the week of August 7 after his defeat in the Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Masters 1000 in Toronto because he is tired.
Novak Djokovic will not win a 39th Masters 1000 on August 13 in Toronto. The world No. 2 has indeed withdrawn this Sunday for the Canadian tournament, which was to mark his return to competition after his defeat in the Wimbledon final, because he is tired. “I’ve always enjoyed playing in Canada, but after talking with my team, we think it’s the right decision to make. I would like to thank Karl Hale, the tournament director, for understanding this decision. I really hope to be able to return to Canada and Toronto in the years to come to play in front of great fans there“Wrote the man with 23 Grand Slam tournaments in a press release. The 36-year-old Serbian is injury-free but wants to rest his body after playing two emotional tournaments, winning Roland-Garros on June 11 to become the most successful player in a Grand Slam, before losing the Wimbledon final on July 16 in five sets to new rival Carlos Alcaraz.
Canada has been waiting for Djokovic since 2018
It has now been five years since Novak Djokovic last competed in the Canadian Masters 1000, whether in Montreal or Toronto, for various reasons. In 2019, he had already mentioned physical fatigue after winning Wimbledon. In 2020, the tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, he had given up because he was competing in the Tokyo Olympics and did not want to overload his program.
Finally, last year, the Serb could not play the tournament because he was not allowed to go to Canada because he had not been vaccinated against covid. His record in Canada therefore remains stuck at four victories, in 2007, 2011, 2012 and 2016. If all goes well, we will see him again the week of August 14 on the side of Cincinnati, a tournament he has already won twice. In the meantime, Carlos Alcaraz will have the opportunity to increase his lead at the top of the ATP rankings, he who was eliminated from entry last year in Canada by Tommy Paul. The Spanish player is currently 580 points ahead of the Serbian, but he has 2340 points to defend by the end of the US Open, while Djokovic has none, since his non-vaccination deprived him of the North American tour in 2022.