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Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Others in the List of Absentees at Mutua Madrid Open 2021
The Mutua Madrid Open, which is the second Masters 1000 tournament on clay is all set to start with top players from both the tours(ATP and WTA) are looking forward to making their mark in this prestigious event.
Even though a lot of top players are leading the race at the upcoming Mutua Madrid Open, there are a few players who are all set to miss out on the action. Roger Federer, Serena Wiliams, and Novak Djokovic are amongst the notable names to skip the Madrid Open this year.
Roger Federer
After having two knee surgeries last year, Roger Federer wouldn’t have found a better time to rest his knees as the ATP tour halted due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Amidst a lot of uncertainty, the Swiss Maestro made his comeback at the Qatar Open to check his match fitness. The Swiss Maestro lost in three sets to Nikoloz Basilashivili 3-6,6-1,7-5.
Read more: Roger Federer Foundation Makes an “Impactful Collaboration” to Improve Education in South Africa
Federer immediately went into training after the defeat and mentioned that his target was to become fit for the Wimbledon Championships and the Tokyo Olympics.
As a result, the twenty-time grand slam champion decided to spend more time on training and will play at an ATP 250 clay-court tournament on his home soil in Geneva, before heading to Roland Garros. Therefore, he will miss both the Masters at Madrid and Rome.
Novak Djokovic
The Serbian world number one was eager to play the Mutua Madrid Open but changed his mind after the semi-final loss to Aslan Karatsev at the Serbia Open.
Djokovic’s results on clay this year don’t indicate the type of player he usually is on the red turf.The current world number one is most likely to play yet another clay-court tournament in Belgrade, ahead of the French Open.
If he decides to play the home tournament, it will be interesting to see how he performs in Paris as the French Open starts immediately after the Belgrade event with a day’s gap.
But, the Serb will participate in the Internazionali BNL D’Italia tournament that starts soon after Madrid Masters.
Serena Williams
Having started her preparations on clay for the French Open, the American legend might not play the Madrid Masters ever again after the tournament director Ion Tiriac took a dig at Serena in an interview, asking her to retire from the sport.
Like Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams will participate in the Italian Open; this will be her first clay-court tournament this year.
The American wants to win her 24th grand slam title as she looks forward to achieving this incredible feat at the French Open this year. Also, several young players have defeated her on various surfaces, and she will have to be at her best in every match to have any chance of winning the title.
Stan Wawrinka
One of the most exciting players to watch on tour, Stan Wawrinka has been grappling with back-to-back injuries over the past few years.
In a brutal five-set semi-final encounter against Andy Murray at the 2017 French Open, the Swiss player injured his left knee. Both the players poured their hearts out in the match as the match nearly destroyed their careers.
Even though Wawrinka made a decent comeback in 2019, he still finds it hard to dig deep in the grand slams. He recently had minor surgery for an injury in the left foot and decided to opt out of Madrid and Rome Masters.
Wawrinka is yet to play a clay-court tournament this year.
Gael Monfils
Monfils is yet another player whose performances got marred by injuries more often than not. But, his risky style of tennis doesn’t give him the necessary guarantee to win a tournament.
He recently pulled out of the Monte-Carlo Masters with a calf injury and will not play the Mutua Madrid Open owing to the same.
The Frenchman is yet to decide on his participation at the Italian Open.
David Goffin
Belgian David Goffin is the latest to withdraw from the Madrid Open after an adductor injury during his third-round match against Cameron Norrie at the Barcelona Open last week.
Kei Nishikori
Nishikori, who appeared to be making small strides on-tour in his comeback, has played a decent match against Rafael Nadal in the third round at the Barcelona Open. Even though he lost that match, it brought him a lot of confidence.
While playing at the Estoril Open a couple of days ago, the Japanese had a right adductor injury during practice. He pulled out of his second-round match against Kevin Anderson and is not likely to play the Mutua Madrid Open.
Borna Coric
The Croatian has been dealing with multiple injuries after a great start to his career. He is a clay-court specialist, and it’s unfortunate to see him missing out on all the action on the red dirt.
Coric is currently dealing with a shoulder injury; he will miss the Madrid Open and is yet to provide an update on his participation at the Internazionali BNL D’Italia
Milos Raonic
Even though Milos Raonic’s name rarely comes into the discussion on clay, the Canadian might opt out of the entire clay-court season to focus more on grass and hard-court tournaments which are his strengths.
He is yet to provide an update on his French Open participation.
Bianca Andreescu
After a glorious start to her career with a victory over Serena Williams to clinch her maiden grand slam tournament, Bianca Andreescu had a difficult ride since then.
She didn’t play much last year due to a knee injury and retired against Ash Barty in the Miami Open finals this year, citing a foot injury.
Even though the foot injury was minor and the Canadian recovered quickly, she was tested positive for covid-19 upon arriving in Madrid. She announced her withdrawal from Madrid Open and will play at the Italian Open in the second week of May.
Sofia Kenin
Kenin, the American tennis player, stunned the tennis world by winning the Australian Open last year. She also reached the 2020 French Open final and was awarded the “WTA Player of the tour” for her incredible achievements.
However, this year was brutal for the young American as she failed to defend her Australian Open crown and is struggling to find top form ever since.
She had an acute appendicitis surgery in February, disrupting her plans to make a solid comeback. The American struggled to find form at the Stuttgart Open as well and lost to Anett Kontaveit in the third round. Kenin opted out of the Mutua Madrid Open; she might choose to play the Rome Masters.
In addition to the above, players like Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will also be missing the action at the Mutua Madrid Open this year.
Read more: “Unfollowed All Tennis Players”: Andy Murray Reflects on Missing Australian Open 2021
The post Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Others in the List of Absentees at Mutua Madrid Open 2021 appeared first on EssentiallySports.
