Novak Djokovic has pulled out of next week’s Italian Open, according to a press release issued on Tuesday evening.
The unexpected announcement came without any comment from the former world No.1 and 24-time Grand Slam champion. instead, organisers said he has chosen to ‘skip‘ the Masters 1000 event without ellaborating any further. Djokovic has played in the Rome main draw every year since 2007.
Unless the 37-year-old opts to play an ATP 250 event later this month he will enter the French Open without having won a match on the clay this season. In Monte Carlo, he lost his opening match to Alejandro Tabilo before losing to Matteo Arnaldi at the Madrid Masters. Both of those defeats were in straight sets.
After his clash against Arnaldi, Djokovic opened up about the challenges of changing his mindset in the sport. Admitting his goals are now on winning a couple of matches instead of the title.
“(My expectations were) Not big at all, to be honest. I was hoping I can play one more match than I played in Monte Carlo. Kind of new reality for me, I have to say, trying to win a match or two, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament,” he said.
“It’s a completely different feeling from what I had in 20+ years of professional tennis, so it’s kind of a challenge for me mentally to really face these kind of sensations on the court, going out early now regularly in the tournaments. But that’s, I guess, the circle of life and the career, eventually it was going to happen.”
Elaborating further, the Serbian believes that he will not be one of the favorites for French Open glory but was hoping to use this to his advantage.
“Things are different, obviously, with my strokes, with my body, with my movement, it’s the reality that I have to accept. I’ll try to make the most out of these new circumstances that I have, particularly on Grand Slams, where it counts the most for me, at least where I would like to do my best,” he added.
“I’m not going into Roland Garros as one of the main favorites. Maybe that can help, I don’t know, we’ll see.”
The Italian Open will be where Jannik Sinner makes his return to action following a three-month ban for an anti-doping violation. Sinner acepted the ban after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency over his two positive drugs tests in 2024.
