Jimmy Connors Gives Verdict on Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Aryna Sabalenka’s Withdrawals from Canadian Open

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner faced each other in this year's French Open and Wimbledon finals.

Jimmy Connors Gives Verdict on Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Aryna Sabalenka’s Withdrawals from Canadian Open

Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Novak Djokovic, We Are Tennis France)

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The Canadian Open saw mass withdrawals. Top players like Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryana Sabalenka, and Jannik Sinner have also decided to skip it. Many have blamed the 11-month hectic schedule for this. They believe players need more rest after Grand Slam tournaments, and especially after they are playing tournaments one after the other.

The aforementioned top players did not get proper rest since the clay swing. While Djokovic has skipped a few tournaments, former player Jimmy Connors believes that the Serb, at this stage of his career, has to handle his schedule the way he is handling it- by skipping some ATP 500 or 1000 events and putting more focus on the Grand Slam tournaments. He said on the Advantage Connors podcast:

A guy like Djokovic, you know, he’s gotta monitor his time and the effort that he puts in, you know, because he is the older player on the circuit now. And if he wants to bring his game up and rise to the top winner when it supposedly is the most meaningful, which would be the US Open.

Last year, Djokovic had skipped all the warm-up tournaments before the US Open. Alcaraz had missed the Canadian Open but played the Cincinnati Masters. Sabalenka and Sinner played both WTA 1000 events before the last Major of the season.

But a lot of the other guys go into the 12/12 day events. You know, that is a lot of tennis and, you know, the only good thing is they’re not three-out-of-five-set matches, you know, they’re two out of three. But yeah, I mean, after Wimbledon, I would take a week off. I’d have to go home and get my clothes cleaned and get ready to play.

Jimmy Connors added

Djokovic hasn’t yet lifted a Grand Slam title since the 2023 US Open. Sinner and Alcaraz have won the last seven Grand Slam titles.

Sabalenka is searching for her first Major since the 2024 US Open. This year, she played both the Australian Open and the French Open finals, but ended up losing both tournaments to Madison Keys and Coco Gauff, respectively.

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Aryna Sabalenka are expected to play the Cincinnati Masters

Following the Canadian Open, the tennis world will shift its focus onto the Cincinnati Masres, which is scheduled to start on August 7th. Novak Djokovic is expected to skip the tournament, which he last won in 2023.

Carlos Alcaraz is a former finalist at Cincinnati in 2023. He lost the match to Djokovic. Although it’s uncertain about Djokovic’s participation, Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka are expected to start their campaigns on the North American hard-court swing at the Cincinnati Masters.

Sinner and Sabalenka will enter the tournament as the defending champions. Last year, both players defeated home favorites. Sinner beat Frances Tiafoe, while the Belarusian ace denied Jessica Pegula the title.

Later, both the World No.1s lifted their career’s first title at Flushing Meadows. Sinner beat Taylor Fritz, while the three-time Grand Slam singles champion, defeated Pegula. This season, Djokovic has won only the Geneva Open- his career’s 100th ATP title. Sabalenka has reached seven finals, winning three titles.

Alcaraz has claimed five titles and played two more finals. The titles he lifted were in Rotterdam, Monte Carlo, Rome, Paris, and London (Queen’s Club Championships).

At the French Open and Wimbledon, Sinner and Alcaraz faced each other in the finals. In the former tournament, Alcaraz eked out a five-set win in the longest French Open final, while at Wimbledon, Sinner avenged his defeat with a four-set win. Sinner has lifted only the Australian Open and the Wimbledon titles this year.

Also read: (In Pictures) Daniil Medvedev Creates a Unique ‘Sad Clown’ Celebration at the Canadian Open