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23-time major winner Novak Djokovic will not be taking part in the National Bank Open in Toronto, an event he has won four times in the past, as the Serbian opted to extend his recovery following the epic Wimbledon 2023 final that he, unfortunately, went on to lose.
The 36-year-old Djokovic withdrew from the event in Canada on Sunday citing fatigue as he gears up for the next big-ticket tournament in the tennis calendar.
“I have always enjoyed my time in Canada but after speaking with my team, we believe this is the right decision to take,” Djokovic said.
“I would like to thank Karl Hale, the tournament director, for understanding this decision. I really hope I can return to Canada and Toronto in the coming years to play in front of great fans there,” the 36-year-old added.
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Djokovic went down to World Number 1 and top-seeded Spanish youngster Carlos Alcaraz in the summit clash at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club just over a week ago as the 20-year-old teenager claimed his first-ever Wimbledon title and his second grand slam crown following the one he clinched in the USA in the year 2022.
Djokovic stormed his way into the final of the prestigious championships at the SW19 but fell at the final hurdle in astounding fashion as Alcaraz dug deep to pick up a famous win despite surrendering the opening set of the championship game to Djokovic in a rather tame fashion.
But, Alcaraz fought hard to pick up the second set on a tiebreaker, thus levelling the fixture before taking the lead in the third set with a 6-1 win.
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Djokovic wouldn’t go down without a fight as he managed to clinch the fourth set of the summit clash to make it 2 sets each and pushed the final to a deciding 5th set. The fifth set was contested on a rather even stead as Alcaraz secured a break off Djokovic’s service game and held out for the win.
Djokovic will be looking to remedy the defeat with a strong performance at the US Open, the next major in the cycle.
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