Novak Djokovic emerges as the biggest winner at the Madrid Open – without hitting a ball

Kevin Palmer
Novak Djokovic started his Monte Carlo campaign with victory
Novak Djokovic looked in fine form in his opening match in Monte Carlo

Novak Djokovic’s decision to pull out of the Madrid Open raised a few eyebrows, but he is emerging as the biggest winner from a tournament that has decimated his rivals.

The world No 1 was in Madrid on the eve of the tournament to collect another Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award, but he opted against playing in what would have been only his fourth regular tour event of 2024.

Question marks over his commitment to tennis and his desire to continue in the sport have been circulating for several months and with good reason.

Djokovic has admitted he is less than motivated by tournaments outside of the Grand Slams, so playing back-to-back ATP 1000 events in Madrid and Rome was always unlikely.

Yet there were some suggestions that he may change his plans after an early exit at Indian Wells and a semi-final defeat against Casper Ruud in Monte Carlo.

“He needs to play more tennis going into Roland Garros. He knows better than anyone how to manage this part of the year,” said Roddick on his Served podcast, as he reflected on Djokovic’s lack of action, yet the former world No 1 added this caveat to his observation.

“He has slowly ramped up the clay court season to get to a Roland Garros title, so I’m not worried about him.”

Djokovic has insisted he is not concerned by his lack of action so far this year, with the icon who will celebrate his 37th birthday later this month convinced his time to win again will come where it really matters, at the French Open.

“I’m used to really high standards in terms of expectations of the results, so not having a title is, maybe comparing to the last 15 years, not a great season at all,” said Djokovic after his defeat against Casper Ruud in Monte Carlo.

“I had semis of Australia, semis here. I only played three tournaments this year, so of course, you know, it’s normal to expect that you have some seasons where you don’t start well, and this is the one.

“Hopefully I can pick up, in terms of results, I can build from here, because, you know, I played some good tennis. Hopefully in the next tournaments, I’ll be able to play even better.”

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The carnage created by the Madrid Open must have fuelled Djokovic’s belief heading into the key weeks of his season.

First it was Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz raising fresh injury concerns, as his forearm problem affected his performance in his quarter-final defeat against Andrey Rublev.

Then there was the worrying withdrawal of world No 2 Jannik Sinner, who withdrew from the Madrid Open without taking to the court against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Australian Open champion Sinner admits he doesn’t know the severity of the hip problem that forced him out in Madrid, with scan results in the coming days set to decide whether he can play in front of his adoring Italian fans at the Rome Masters next week.

Alcaraz and Sinner may have been the biggest threats to Alcaraz at Roland Garros, but Daniil Medvedev has also confirmed he can be a threat on clay court over the last year and now he is a major injury doubt.

The Russian world No 4 was forced to pull out of his Madrid Open quarter-final against Jiri Lehecka with a right leg problem, which is likely to end his hopes of playing in Rome.

It remains to be seen whether Medvedev can recover in time to play at the French Open, but there is a good chance he won’t be fully fit if he plays in Paris.

Meanwhile, Djokovic is building himself up slowly with measured practice sessions ahead of his appearance in Rome, where he will arrive as the strong favourite to win his first title of the year when you consider the condition of the other leading contenders.

In fact, given the condition of Sinner, Alcaraz and Medvedev right now, Djokovic looks set to be the red-hot favourite to retain his French Open crown next month, as the script from the last few days in Madrid could have been written by the greatest champion of them all.

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