Novak Djokovic has recently reassured his fans that he will compete at the Miami Open, but that may not happen after what Rublev said in Miami.
Originally, Novak was not expected to play in Florida for some reasons. First, the world no.1 had to fully recover from the nasty abdominal injury he suffered during his memorable run at the Australian Open. Second, Novak is clearly aiming to win his second Roland Garros and therefore he should be focused on getting ready for the clay. Finally, Novak has always stated that he is not a fan of playing in the bubble and traveling without his family.
Rublev about Djokovic not playing in Miami
The Russian won yet another match in Dubai to reach the semifinal. After the match, Andrey stressed the fact that he wanted to be as fit as possible for the Miami Open because of the absence of Federer, Nadal, Thiem, and… Djokovic.
“Of course. I want to be as much ready as I can for Miami, because as you said, there’s gonna be no Rafael Nadal, no Novak Djokovic, Federer and Thiem. And in my case, all 1000s tournaments, I have no points there,” Rublev revealed.
What the world no.8 said was in stark contrast with Djokovic’s official schedule. The Serbian legend stated that he would’ve played Miami, Monte-Carlo and then the ATP250 in Belgrade.
It is not unusual that top players withdraw from tournaments at the last minute for sponsorship reasons. Therefore, it seems that Rublev has some inside information unless he got just confused during the interview.
Rublev in Dubai, ranking, and results in 2021
Currently ranked no.8 (career-high), Andrey owns an overall 16-2 match record in 2021. Rublev is participating in Dubai where he ousted Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4 6-4, Taylor Harry Fritz 6-3 6-1 and Marton Fucsovics 7-5 6-2.
Andrey Rublev will compete against Karatsev in the semifinal. In the past, they have never played each other till now on the main tour.
The Russian clinched 1 title in 2021 in Rotterdam.
Andrey won 8 titles in his career: 2 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 4 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Novak Djokovic in 2021
At the moment ranked no.1, Djokovic played his last match on the 21st of February when he defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-2 6-2 in the final of the Australian Open to win his 82nd career title.
This season Djokovic has achieved an overall 9-0 match record. The Serbian conquered 1 title at the Australian Open.
Andrey Rublev and Novak Djokovic have never clashed against each other.
Andrey Rublev and Novak Djokovic |
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