Novak Djokovic has announced that he will not be playing at the Miami Open this year.
Djokovic reached the Miami Open final last year, where he lost to Jakub Mensik.
The Serbian is a joint-record six-time champion in Miami, but after Djokovic lost to Jack Draper at Indian Wells he has withdrawn from the tournament this year.
Djokovic cited a shoulder injury as the reason for his withdrawal, and now both Martina Navratilova and Tim Henman have reacted to this announcement.
Martina Navratilova suggests Novak Djokovic needs to play more matches
Following the conclusion of the men’s singles final at Indian Wells, where Jannik Sinner made tennis history after beating Daniil Medvedev, Navratilova and Henman discussed Djokovic’s withdrawal from the Miami Open.
When speaking on Sky Sports, Navratilova wished Djokovic well, but stated her belief that he needs to play more matches to improve his chances at Grand Slams.
Are you more or less confident that Novak Djokovic can win his 25th Grand Slam now?
“The weather is causing havoc with the tournament and it’s really too bad, Novak last year’s finalist and the greatest, not being able to play,” said Navratilova.
“We did not see anything going on with his shoulder here but the balls and everything is heavier in Miami, so who knows? Hopefully everything will be okay and we will see him soon again.
Henman responded to Navratilova, “I don’t think it’s a massive surprise. He is very selective as to where he plays and dips in and out.
“I will be very interested to see how much he plays on the clay. That is the most physically demanding surface. Will he play something before the French? Will he play the French at all? Will he just focus on the grass? Who knows.”
Navratilova then added, “I think he needs to have more matches before the big ones. I think he has pulled back so much that even though he is as solid as he is I think he needs a bit more match play to put yourself out there, but he knows better than me.”
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What will happen to Novak Djokovic’s ranking after his Miami Open withdrawal?
With Djokovic reaching the final of the Miami Open last year, he now faces a significant loss of ranking points.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion had returned to world number three after reaching the Australian Open final, but Djokovic will now lose 650 ranking points.
Djokovic is already confirmed to drop below Alexander Zverev into world number four, but he could fall to as low as world number six.
Lorenzo Musetti would overtake Djokovic if he reaches the Miami Open final, while Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz could leapfrog the Serbian with a title victory.
Djokovic will now not return to hard courts until at least the US Open swing, as he switches his focus to clay.
The next tournament he has entered is at the Monte Carlo Masters, where Djokovic is a two-time former champion.
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