After pulling out of the Canadian Open, Novak Djokovic also withdrew from the 2024 Cincinnati Open as he recovers from the iconic Olympics triumph.
This season hasn't been very good for Djokovic in the first seven months, certainly not compared to last year, when he was breaking one record after another. Yet, in many ways, this season is far more significant for the Serbian than the previous one.
Objectively, he did have a better season last year, but this season finally saw him win the gold medal, which is the one triumph that he wanted the most for many years. It happened recently at the Paris Olympics, and he did it in an iconic way because he bested Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
The Spaniard was a huge favorite for that event because he played the best tennis in the weeks leading up to the match. Yet Djokovic won, and he celebrated it heavily. It came after a lifetime of waiting, and it was the main goal for this season, so it was a hugely emotional experience for him.
He missed out on the Grand Slams so far this year, but winning that medal made everything worth it. It was a hugely complicated endeavor that left a mark on him both physically and emotionally.
The Serbian exerted a lot of energy to try and win that medal, so he obviously needs time to recover. The more complicated part was the emotional release, which was significant.
We've seen how heavily he celebrated the win and how he burst into tears almost instantaneously. That's the type of emotional release that takes time to process, and he's doing that right now.
Playing at the Canadian Open never made sense because it started the day after the Olympics, so he withdrew from the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal.
The following tournament is the Cincinnati Open, and now he's pulled out of that event as well. There were some suggestions that Djokovic might play at the event because it's the final ATP Masters 1000 tournament he could play before the US Open.
Entering the US Open without many matches on the hard courts would not be ideal for the 37-year-old, but his focus is probably somewhere else at the moment after winning that gold medal.
Another reason why he was expected to play at the event is because he won the tournament last year, meaning that he will miss it this year as the defending champion.
Still, other things take priority for the 24-time major winner, and resting up properly for the US Open is simply Djokovic's priority. On top of that, he had knee surgery not too long ago and played at Wimbledon and the Olympics with a knee brace. He even admitted to some minor issues with the knee during his stay in Paris.
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