TORONTO — World No. 2 Novak Djokovic, after his loss in a marathon final of nearly five hours at Wimbledon, has withdrawn from the Canadian Masters in Toronto due to fatigue, tournament organizers announced.
The 36-year-old Serbian had won four straight Wimbledon singles titles before top seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain defeated him 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 on July 16 in London.
“I have always enjoyed my time in Canada but after speaking with my team, we believe this is the right decision to take,” Djokovic said in a statement.
“I would like to thank Karl Hale, the tournament director, for understanding this decision. I really hope I can return to Canada and Toronto in the coming years to play in front of great fans there,” he added according to Reuters.
Djokovic last competed in the ATP Masters 1000 event in 2018 and sports a 37-7 overall record at the tournament, winning the singles title four times.
The 2023 event is Aug. 7-13, with the men playing in Toronto and the women in Montreal.
“Of course, we’re disappointed that Novak won’t be playing at the National Bank Open this year,” Hale said in a statement.
“He’s an incredible player and one we know our fans were eager to watch at Sobeys Stadium. He will be missed, but we still have a long list of sensational players confirmed for this year’s event, including 41 of the top 42 players in the world.”
Djokovic has a 33-5 mark this year with titles at the Australian Open, the French Open and Adelaide.
His withdrawal from Toronto led Christopher Eubanks to be given automatic entry into the main draw. Eubanks, a 27-year-old from Atlanta, made a Cinderella run to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
Elsewhere, Dominic Thiem battled past Argentine qualifier Facundo Bagnis 6-4, 7-5 to reach the second round of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.
“I knew that it was going to be hard work against him. He’s a great player, especially on the clay court,” Thiem said in his on-court interview.
“He had two victories here already in the qualies, which is never easy. It was his third day in a row, so he knows the conditions, he knows how to play at night, how the balls are bouncing. So it was a lot of hard work today, but now I’m super happy that I won that match,” the Austrian added.
The former World No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings saved all six break points he faced — including two on set points at 4-5 in the second set — against the lefty to advance after two hours and three minutes.
Thiem will try to reach his first tour-level quarter-final since April when he faces top seed Jiri Lehecka.
“We just practised together,” Thiem said. “It’s his best year by far. He’s a great player, very young still, playing so fast. So [I will] try to use my experience, try to play a great match.”
In other action, 17-year-old Dino Prizmic earned his first ATP Tour win. This year’s Roland Garros boys’ singles champion eliminated another Croatian wild card, Duje Ajdukovic, 6-1, 6-2 under the watchful eye of national icon Goran Ivanisevic.
“The feeling is amazing,” Prizmic said. “I want to say thanks to everyone who came here to support this match. It means a lot to me and this is a big experience for me.”
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