World No. 1 Novak Djokovic (Serbia), who lifted his 10th Australian Open men’s singles title and his 22nd major championship cup last month, gave up his participation in the first tournament of the season, the Masters 1000 Series, his ‘garden’.
American sports media ESPN reported on the 9th (Korean time), “Djokovic, who suffered a hamstring injury at the Australian Open, will miss the BNP Paribas Open, which will be held in Indian Wells, California, from March 9th.”
The BNP Paribas Open is the first event of the season in the Men’s Professional Tennis (ATP) Masters 1000 Series, which only has nine a year, and is also called the Indian Wells Masters after the host region. After first winning in 2008, Djokovic lifted all five trophies at Indian Wells until 2016, holding the record for the most wins in the tournament along with retired Roger Federer (Switzerland). 메이저사이트
Djokovic is the ‘King’ of the Masters 1000 series. In the 1000 series, which is the second highest rating after major tournaments, Djokovic reached the finals 56 times and came out on top 38 times. In the first half of 2021 alone, he fell behind Rafael Nadal (Spain, 36 times), but surpassed Nadal’s multiplier at the Paris Masters, the ninth tournament of the last 1000 series that year.
There are two reasons why Djokovic gave up on his ‘winner field’. First of all, it is because of a hamstring injury confirmed during the Australian Open. Djokovic played the Australian Open with a hamstring injury before the start. Suspicions of a fake injury arose, but after the tournament, Craig Tyley, the Australian Open tournament director (T/D), made the injury official, saying, “Djokovic’s hamstring was torn by 3 cm.”
The Corona 19 vaccine’trauma’ is also a factor blocking the trip to Indian Wells. Unlike Australia, vaccination is still required in the United States. The US will end its COVID-19 emergency declaration in May, but the tournament will be held before then. For this reason, ESPN explained that even without the hamstring injury, it would have been difficult for Djokovic to participate in the tournament.