Defending Madrid Open champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka both triumphed in their opening clashes in the Spanish capital on Friday to reach the third round.
The 37-year-old, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, said that he is far from being in top form and that he is only playing against American Darwin Blanch in the first round of the Madrid Open on Thursday as a personal sacrifice.
Djokovic has now pulled out of the Madrid Open three times in four years.
The Spaniard earned his 10th career title with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Jan-Lennard Struff and can reclaim the world number one ranking from Novak Djokovic simply by playing a single match at the Rome Masters next week, before the French Open.
The big-hitting Belarusian gained revenge for defeat by her Polish rival in the Stuttgart final a fortnight ago with a thrilling triumph to end Swiatek's nine-match winning streak ahead of her French Open defence
Defending champion Ons Jabeur said on Monday she had withdrawn from the Madrid Open with a calf injury after retiring from the Stuttgart Open at the weekend.
Both men are vying for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, with the tournament beginning on May 28
Eugenie Bouchard pulled off her first win over Maria Sharapova with a 7-5 2-6 6-4 triumph in the Madrid Open on Monday in a thrilling contest full of tension after the Canadian had called the Russian a cheater following her doping ban.
Defending Madrid Open champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka both triumphed in their opening clashes in the Spanish capital on Friday to reach the third round.
The 37-year-old, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, said that he is far from being in top form and that he is only playing against American Darwin Blanch in the first round of the Madrid Open on Thursday as a personal sacrifice.
Djokovic has now pulled out of the Madrid Open three times in four years.
The Spaniard earned his 10th career title with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Jan-Lennard Struff and can reclaim the world number one ranking from Novak Djokovic simply by playing a single match at the Rome Masters next week, before the French Open.
The big-hitting Belarusian gained revenge for defeat by her Polish rival in the Stuttgart final a fortnight ago with a thrilling triumph to end Swiatek's nine-match winning streak ahead of her French Open defence
Defending champion Ons Jabeur said on Monday she had withdrawn from the Madrid Open with a calf injury after retiring from the Stuttgart Open at the weekend.
Both men are vying for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, with the tournament beginning on May 28
Eugenie Bouchard pulled off her first win over Maria Sharapova with a 7-5 2-6 6-4 triumph in the Madrid Open on Monday in a thrilling contest full of tension after the Canadian had called the Russian a cheater following her doping ban.