Novak Djokovic withdraws from the Italian Open, days before the French Open

Former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Italian Open after losing three matches in a row and struggling with his form for months.

With this, the 24-time Grand Slam winner will head into the French Open without a single clay-court win this season. Previously, he has won the French Open three times, with his most recent achievement in 2023.

It was known that players often use tournaments like the Madrid Open and the Italian Open to prepare for Roland Garros, helping them adjust to the complexities of clay courts.

In April, Djokovic made his presence known in the Madrid Open through a post.Netizens expressed their support and commented on the post: “Can’t wait to see you play😍🔥🙌❤️🔥best of luck Legend👏👏👏👏”, “Vamos Djoko 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽🔥🔥🔥🔥”, and “King Novak, let’s get this 100th career title, GOAT 🐐”

However, Djokovic’s absence from the Italian Open without any concrete explanation has prompted concern from former French Open champion Jim Courier.

Courier admitted on TCLive: “It’s worrying because that’s the best place to get ready for Roland Garros… The conditions are very similar. You’re back at sea level. If you’re going to play one between Madrid and Rome, Rome would be the one you’d would want to play to get ready for Roland Garros.” 

He added: “It’s a very strange thing to announce a pull-out now, well in advance of it. And we’ll see what it all means when we get to Roland Garros.” 

Djokovic’s withdrawal 

This will be the first time since 2007 that Novak Djokovic won’t play in the Italian Open. This decision came after his series of defeats, including a recent loss to world No. 44 Matteo Arnaldi in the Madrid Open and an earlier exit against Alejandro Tabilo at the Monte-Carlo Masters. The athlete reached the Miami Open final last March, but he lost to Jakub Menšík. 

Moreover, the current World No. 5 also retired from the Australian Open semi-final in January because of a leg injury, which added tension to his difficult season. 

At a press conference, Djokovic stated: “Kind of a new reality for me, I have to say… Trying to win a match or two, you know, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament. It’s a completely different feeling from what I had 20-plus years of professional tennis.” 

He further expressed: “A challenge for me mentally to face these kind of sensations on the court … but, you know, that’s I guess the circle of life of the career. Eventually, it was going to happen.”