Photo: Jose Manuel Alvarez/Quality Sport Images/Getty
Andy Murrayhas withdrawn from his Thursday match againstNovak Djokovicat the Madrid Open due to food poisoning.
“I had a message yesterday from Andy that he was not feeling well,” Tournament director Feliciano Lopez toldThe Telegraph. “He had food poisoning, it sounds like he is feeling better this morning but is still not well enough to go on the court.”
Murray, 34, who accepted a late wild card entry in the Madrid Open, won his first two matches of the tournament, defeating Dominic Thiem and Denis Shapovalov. Thursday’s highly-anticipated match would have been the 37th face-off between Murray and Djokovic and their first since 2017.
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“Unfortunately, Andy Murray is unable to take to the Manolo Santana Stadium due to illness,” tournament organizers announced onTwitter. “We wish you a speedy recovery,@andy_murray!”
“Instead, Andrey Rublev and Daniel Evans will open the day’s play on centre court,” the statement added.
Jose Manuel Alvarez/Quality Sport Images/Getty; Atilano Garcia/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty
No. 1 Djokovic, 34, will now automatically advance to the quarterfinals, facing off with the winner of the match between Hubert Hurkacz and Dusan Lajovic.
Earlier this week, both Murray and Djokovic expressed their excitement to compete against each other.
“He’s the world No 1 and I’ve got a metal hip,” Murray toldreporters, referring to his hip surgeries in 2018 and 2019. “I didn’t know I’d get opportunities to play matches like this again. In theory, I shouldn’t have a chance in the match. But I’ve worked my hardest, put myself in a great position and it’s a fantastic opportunity to play against him again on a big court in a huge tournament.”
source: people.com
