Canada’s most prestigious tennis tournament will be without the world No.1 in men’s tennis after he announced his withdrawal on Thursday.
Novak Djokovic has confirmed that he will miss the Rogers Cup in order to have an extended rest. The Serbian recently claimed his 16th grand slam title at the Wimbledon Championships after defeating rival Roger Federer in a five-set thriller. It will be the first time Djokovic has missed a Masters 1000 tournament since 2017 when he missed six months of the tour due to an elbow injury.
“I’m sorry to announce that I decided to pull out of Rogers Cup,” Djokovic said in the statement. “With the support of my team, I have decided to give my body longer rest and recovery time before coming back again to play. I love Canada and I have many friends there that always make me feel like I’m at home and I’m looking forward to coming back again to play in front of all of you in Montreal.”
The 32-year-old is a four-time champion of the Roger Cup, which takes place in either Montreal or Toronto on an alternate basis. The tournament was where he played his first qualifying draw for a Masters event back in 2005. Overall, he has a win-loss record of 37-7.
Another high-profile absentee will be Federer, who confirmed that he would skip the event two weeks ago. The Swiss player has also said he wanted an extended rest period after playing the clay-court swing for the first time since 2016. Federer, who is a two-time champion, has only played in the tournament once since 2015.
“Looking ahead, we had decided in the team I was going to skip Montreal anyway already a week ago, just give myself enough time.” The world No.3 said following the Wimbledon final.
“I wish I had more, but I don’t. I’m just going to take enough time off what I can and prepare for Cincinnati and get going from then on again.”
Juan Martin del Potro will also miss the tournament as he continues his rehabilitation from a knee injury. During the Fever-Tree Championships the Argentine re-fractured his knee kneecap and subsequently had to undergo further surgery. It is unknown as to when he will return to the tour.
“We would have loved for Djokovic to have the chance to be crowned champion for a third time in Montreal, but we understand his decision and we wish him a quick return for the rest of the season,” atptour.com quoted Roger Cup tournament director Eugene Lapierre as saying.
“In Del Potro’s case, we wish him a speedy recovery, he who has experienced his share of injuries in the past few years. We look forward to seeing him back on court in the near future.”
Defending champion Rafael Nadal will now be the top seed in the draw this year. The men’s tournament will get underway on August 2nd in Montreal.
