Djokovic, Nadal and Alcaraz’s insane stat as Serb out of Madrid Open

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Novak Djokovic’s decision to pull out of the Madrid Open has caused a stir after Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal, with the frightening prospect of none of the iconic Big Three playing at the French Open for the first time in 20 years. It also means that Djokovic, Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will miss each other in the draw once again at a major tournament in a long-running and bizarre statistic that continues to mystify tennis fans.

Djokovic has opted to withdraw from contention for the ATP 1000 event in the Spanish capital following his recent defeats in the Monte Carlo and Vanja Luka tournaments. The 35-year-old did not give an official reason for his decision to pull out, but hinted at not being 100 per cent fit.

“My legs were slow and my footwork was torpid, many missed shots, totally without direction,” he said afterwards. Madrid Open organisers have now confirmed that Djokovic has pulled out of next week’s tournament.

They wrote on Twitter: “@DjokerNole is unable to compete at the #MMOPEN. Wishing you a speedy recovery, we hope to see you back on court as soon as possible, Nole.”

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The Serb previously hinted that he had been suffering with an elbow problem after the 22-time Grand Slam winner underwent surgery in 2018.

He wore strapping during his defeat to Lorenzo Musetti on Monaco and looked some way short of his best level in that surprise defeat.

He joins Nadal in missing out on the tournament as the Spaniard continues to be plagued by injury. Nadal, 36, admitted on Thursday that his psoas injury sustained at the Australian Open is “not been what we were initially told and we find ourselves in a situation that is difficult”.

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With both Djokovic and Nadal withdrawing from ATP 1000 event at the Madrid Open, men’s tennis continues to miss out on mouthwatering clashes, with world No 2 Alcaraz left alone in the draw to defend his title after winning the event last year.

It means that the possibility of a Djokovic-Nadal-Alcaraz match-up has only featured two or more of them alive in a draw together for three days this year when Nadal lost in the second round in Melbourne, according to tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg.

The run has since stretched beyond 100 days when it was announced Nadal would miss the Barcelona Open, while Djokovic was playing in Bosnia. Alcaraz went on to claim the title in Sabadell after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas to claim his ninth career title but the 19-year-old would surely love an opportunity to face one of the original greats of the game this year.

He praised the Serbian as his most feared rival on the clay court after talking up his chances of winning in Madrid or Rome before the French Open: “Djokovic is Djokovic even though he lost in the round of 16 in Monte Carlo and the quarterfinals in Banja Luka,” Alcaraz said.

“He can reach Madrid and win it, he can get to Rome and win, so we have him there as the main rival, but obviously there are great players who are up to Nole on clay.”

But he could still be denied at the second Slam of the year when the French Open begins in May, with Nadal’s participation also in doubt. Neither he nor Djokovic have missed the tournament since 2005.

And it would surely make Alcaraz one of the favourites to land the Roland Garros crown should the pair miss the Parisian event.

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