Two of tennis’s biggest stars will not be competing at the 2023 Madrid Open. Spain’s own Rafael Nadal is still out with a hip injury he suffered at the Australian Open during a second round loss to Mackenzie McDonald of the United States. Novak Djokovic of Serbia meanwhile is out with an elbow injury.
Since becoming an ATP Masters 1000 Series event in 2002, Nadal has the record for the most Madrid Opens with five, while Djokovic has won three Madrid Opens. Nadal was victorious in 2005, 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2017. Djokovic was victorious in 2011, 2016, and 2019. The five players Nadal beat over the years in the final were Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, Kei Nishikori of Japan, and Dominic Thiem of Austria. The three players Djokovic beat in the Madrid Open Final were Nadal, Andy Murray of Great Britain and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
Nadal and Djokovic have not just played well at Madrid over the years, they are strong clay court players overall. Nadal has won 14 French Open titles and Djokovic has won twice. Other notable men’s players who will not be in Madrid are Jannik Sinner of Italy (illness), Matteo Berrettini of Italy (abdomen), Marin Cilic of Croatia (knee), and Nick Kyrgios of Australia (knee).
On the women’s side, there are some notable exclusions too in Madrid. They include Belinda Bencic of Switzerland (hip), Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic (knee), and Ons Jabeur of Tunisia (calf). Jabeur is the defending women’s singles champion as she beat Jessica Pegula of the United States in the 2022 final, 7-5, 0-6, 6-2.
