World No. 1 Novak Djokovic withdraws from Madrid Open

No. 1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from next week's Madrid Open, an ATP Masters 1000 event.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic withdraws from Madrid Open
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic withdraws from Madrid Open /

No. 1 Novak Djokovic will withdraw from next week's Madrid Open, an ATP Masters 1000 event, according to the tournament's website.

[tweet=https://twitter.com/MutuaMadridOpen/status/593481130952806401]

Reports of the withdrawal were first reported by Spain's Marca earlier in the week.

Djokovic's withdrawal means No. 2 Roger Federer will be the top seed and No. 5 Kei Nishikori, who won Barcelona and made the Madrid final last year, will get bumped up to the No. 4 seed.

Based on his success through the first four months of the season and his desire to keep his body rested for his upcoming charge at the French Open, Djokovic has opted to skip Madrid for the second year in a row. Last year he withdrew due to an arm injury. Djokovic made history two weeks ago when he became the first man in the Open Era to win the first three Masters tournaments of the season, having captured the titles at Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo. 

Kerber tops Wozniacki, wins Stuttgart final; Nishikori wins Barcelona Open

​With his Monte Carlo win, Djokovic tied Federer with 23 Masters titles, second only to Rafael Nadal. But the French Open has been the elusive trophy missing from Djokovic's resume. A win at Roland Garros will complete his career Grand Slam and establish him as one of the best all-court players the game has seen. He has lost to Nadal in each of the last three years in Paris, twice in finals. That he has chosen to take some additional rest by skipping Madrid, a tournament with altitude conditions that do not mirror those in Paris, is no surprise. 

While the Madrid Open is a mandatory ATP event, Djokovic has earned an exemption under the rules given his length of service and is allowed to skip one mandatory event without any penalties. The ATP rules allow a player to skip one mandatory event if he has (1) played more than 600 matches in his career, (2) been on tour for 12 years, or (3) reaches the age of 31. If a player reaches all three milestones, as Federer has, he may skip any and all Masters without penalty.

Djokovic's next tournament will be the Italian Open in Rome, Italy, which begins on May 10th. 

Monte Carlo Masters 2015

470058932_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
469886090_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
469888056_master.jpg
VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images

Stan Wawrinka

469886082_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images

Monte-Carlos Masters

469928864_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
469896478_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
469914252_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
469792000_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
469805092_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
469805164_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
469792288_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images

John Isner

469929128_master.jpg
VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images

Monte-Carlos Masters

469929858_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
469934396_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
469934470_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
469934812_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
469934840_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images

Rafael Nadal

469935066_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images

Monte-Carlos Masters

469935134_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
469939566_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
469940140_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470039260_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470044738_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
470039310_master.jpg
VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
469940162_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470039398_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470044938_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
470048880_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470052106_master.jpg
VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
470049050_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470058520_master.jpg
VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images

Novak Djokovic

470058334_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images

Monte-Carlos Masters

470052730_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
470052822_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
470058774_master.jpg
VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
470059296_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
470064738_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
470066990_master.jpg
VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
470068690_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470080550.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
470202488_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470333854_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470339074_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470340882_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470341300_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470341904_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images
470342476_master.jpg
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images
470353794_master.jpg

Tomas Berdych, Novak Djokovic

470353984_master.jpg
VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images

Monte-Carlos Masters

470362084_master.jpg
Julian Finney/Getty Images

This post has been updated.


Published
Courtney Nguyen
COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.