“We have an invitation every year,” Novak Djokovic’s long absence from Rotterdam Open addressed by tournament director
Krajicek acknowledges Djokovic's absence from the ABN AMRO Open.
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Richard Krajicek and Novak Djokovic (via Getty Images)
On Monday, the 50th ABN AMRO Open will get off in Rotterdam with a number of well-known players contending for the championship. This year’s competition features both last year’s champion Felix Auger-Aliassime and runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, World No. 1, Novak Djokovic, is still nowhere to be seen in Rotterdam.
The Serb last took part in the Rotterdam Open in 2010. Djokovic has not played in the ATP 500 tournament in the last 12 years. In 2010, he could only reach the quarter-finals, where he was defeated by former Russian player, Mikhail Youzhny. Since then, the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s absence has been gravely noted.
The director of the tournament, Richard Krajicek, addressed Djokovic’s prolonged absence from the tournament. Krajicek is a former tennis player and Grand Slam champion himself. While conversing with Dutch media on the occasion of 50 years of the ATP Tour, Krajicek expressed his desire to see the Serb in Rotterdam again.
When he learned that the Serb is allowed back in Australia, Krajicek’s hopes were squashed. He commented,“ We actually have an open invitation for Djokovic every year. We thought: if he is not allowed to re-enter Australia, we will definitely talk to him. But when we learned that he would be allowed to participate in the Australian Open, we already knew that he would not come to Rotterdam”
The Rotterdam Open is set to begin on Monday and will end on the 19th. The ATP 500 tournament will witness many top-seeded players like Tsitsipas, Auger-Aliassime, Medvedev, Rublev, and Zverev, among many more. The event will take place in the Rotterdam Ahoy.
Darren Cahill lauds Novak Djokovic’s professionalism
The Serbian just won the Australian Open for the tenth time, matching Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 Grand Slam victories, which is the most among men. Since he was deported from Australia last year owing to his unvaccinated status, his triumph meant considerably more than any of his other ones. The player was highly emotional about winning the title.
Cahill praised Djokovic’s aptitude for seeing holes in his rival’s strategy. He praised the Serb for his professionalism and movement on the court as well. Cahill, who is Jannik Sinner‘s coach, appreciated Djokovic’s efforts to take care of his physical health. Speaking on a podcast, Cahill said, “I actually heard Andrea Petkovic describe Novak as being like water because you can sort of get it but you can’t really hold on to it. Novak because he finds a way to get through every crack and every crevice to break down the opponent’s game and find weaknesses“
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Tanisha Mohanty
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