Two days after Rafael Nadal, the Madrid tournament lost a second headliner on Saturday with Novak Djokovic’s package. The world number 1 comes out of an elimination in the quarter-finals in Banja Luka, against his Serbian compatriot Dusan Lajovic (6-4, 7-6). He had played his last matches with discomfort in his right elbow. The Spanish tournament confirmed his withdrawal on Saturday, wishing him a “speedy recovery” on Twitter.
” I was below my level, told Djokovic on Friday. Honestly, I didn’t feel good on the court, my balls and my legs were soft. I was too passive and made a lot of mistakes. “Counting his premature elimination in Monte-Carlo, the Serb has two wins and two losses on clay in 2023.” I hope to be ready for Roland-Garros “, added “Djoko”, one month from the Parisian Grand Slam (May 28 – June 11).
The program of the world number 1 was then to take him to Italy, for the Rome Masters (May 10-21). He has only competed in two of the last seven Masters 1000: the Rolex Paris Masters at Bercy last year and Monte-Carlo.