Madrid Masters 2022: Murray gives Djokovic walkover in pre-quarter, social media anguished
Andy Murray has given a walkover to Novak Djokovic in the pre-quarters of the Madrid Masters 2022. He has suffered an illness, and social media was anguished, as a result.
FollowIn what comes as a heartbreak for Andy Murray fans, he has handed a walkover to reigning world number one Novak Djokovic in the pre-quarters of the 2022 Madrid Masters on Thursday. He has reportedly picked up an illness, rendering him incapable of competing. The Brit withdrew from the match just an hour before, while it would have been their first meeting in over five years.
The two have met on 36 occasions to date, with Djokovic leading 25-11. Their last meeting was back in 2017, during the Doha Open final, where the Serbian had won 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Murray has played some decent tennis this year, spending four months in the training block and reuniting with his coach Ivan Lendl.
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Murray had defeated Denis Shapovalov of Canada in the previous round in Madrid, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. After the win, he had said, “He’s the World No 1, and I’ve got a metal hip. 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.”
Meanwhile, following the latest setback, Murray will be in the race against time to be fit to compete in the Rome Masters next week. Currently ranked 85th, he will have to go through the qualifiers starting this weekend. However, he is not planning to compete at the French Open this month due to the best of five sets pressure.
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On the other hand, Djokovic will not be too happy with the walkover, given that he has not played enough tennis this year. He is looking to play as many competitive matches to get into the groove ahead of his title defence at Roland Garros. He will now be facing either Hubert Hurkacz of Poland or Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in the quarterfinal tomorrow.
