Despite being in Madrid, Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Madrid Open, which left many questions open about his schedule, but he cleared them up recently.
Djokovic has had a very interesting season, but it hasn't been good. He played only a handful of events and failed to make the final in all of them. One of them was the most recent Monte-Carlo Masters, and it was a pretty solid showing from him, but certainly not the level we've gotten used to from him.
He didn't have high expectations ahead of it, so not going all the way shouldn't be a huge surprise to anybody. His schedule in the upcoming weeks is a mystery though, especially after he withdrew from the Madrid Open.
That withdrawal surprised some people, but Djokovic always had a plan. His goals for this year are the big events: Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the Olympics, and the US Open. The rest serves as preparation, and his current goal is to prepare his body for Roland Garros.
"I am preparing my body for Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the Games and the US Open, the most important block of the season for me."
As part of that preparation, Djokovic will play at the Italian Open in Rome, where he's had some amazing performances in the past. He's won that event multiple times, so returning to Rome makes sense in that regard.
It's been a far better event for him than the Madrid Open, and the courts play quite similarly to Roland Garros. Madrid is quite a unique event. Due to its altitude, it doesn't play very similarly to Roland Garros, so in that regard, it made sense for him to skip it.
"I intend to play in Rome. This year has been different, I have not had my best level of tennis."
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