Andy Murray withdraws before match against Novak Djokovic in Madrid

Andy Murray pulled out of his match against Novak Djokovic in Madrid Open on Thursday due to illness.

Murray was set to play Djokovic in Round 3.

This would have been Murray’s first match against Djokovic since Djokovic won Doha in 2017.

Murray had defeated Dominic Thiem (previously No. 2) and Denis Shapovalov (previously No. 3) in Madrid. The former No. 1. had not won consecutive matches in January and hadn’t played in a clay court tournament in almost two years.

Murray is currently ranked 78th worldwide. The 34-year old Murray has been steadily climbing up the rankings after undergoing hip surgery in both 2018 & 2019. He arrived in Madrid after a 10-8 record in eight tournaments. In January, he lost to Aslan Karatsev at the Sydney final.

Murray’s condition was not further discussed. Murray had already been diagnosed with cancer. saidAfter his victory over Shapovalov, he felt great.

With Murray’s withdrawal, Djokovic automatically advanced to the quarterfinals — his second of the year after losing the Serbia final last month. Murray had earlier lost in Monte Carlo to Djokovic in his first clay-court tournament.

Djokovic is also trying his best to regain his form after being barred from the Australian Open for not being vaccinated. This is his fourth tournament of this season. Madrid opened with a two-set victory for the Serb against Gael Monfils.

Rafael Nadal is third after a six week injury layoff. Carlos Alcaraz, a Spanish sensation, will face Cameron Norrie.

Andrey Rublev, who defeated Djokovic in Serbia’s final, will play Daniel Evans. Meanwhile, defending champion Alexander Zverev will face qualifier Lorenzo Musetti. Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas will face Gregor Dimitrov.

Ons Jabeur, 8th, faces qualifier Ekaterina Alexova in the women’s semifinals. Jessica Pegula, 12th, meets Jil Teichmann.