Novak Djokovic withdrew from the 2024 Madrid Open, surprising quite a few people, but he explained in Rome just why it happened.
After performances below his usual level this year, many expected the Serbian to play as much tennis as possible. It's never been the case for him, and it seems like it's not going to start this many years into his career.
He started his clay season at the Monte-Carlo Masters and did well, winning a few matches at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. He didn't play in Madrid, and now he revealed that he had never planned to do so.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Italian Open in Rome, Djokovic admitted that it was just how he made his schedule. Madrid was never part of it, and the results so far this year haven't changed that.
"Well, it was not part of the schedule. The plan was to come here. That's basically it. I had plenty of time to also rest and train. Had a good training block. I arrived here two days ago to get a hit on the center court, as well, obviously stay four or five days training before my first match with top players."
"Obviously it's different when you train with them, playing practice sets, seeing where your game is at, kind of working your way towards the fine form for the first official match, so..."
The 36-year-old has had a pretty 'set' way of dealing with the schedule, and loading it up with a lot of events was never part of it. He is quite precise in the way he approaches his calendar, and that's why he doesn't like to change his initial plan.
Whether it works out for him will be seen over the next few weeks. This week will be a test, and obviously, Roland Garros will be the ultimate test.
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