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23-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic has declined to attend the National Bank Open 2023 (also known as the Canadian Open) due to fatigue built up from the Serbian’s exhausting Wimbledon campaign. Djokovic reached the Wimbledon gentlemen's singles final, where he lost a grueling five-set match against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz. The 36-year-old feels that he won’t be able to give a good show at the Canada Open and has thus decided against attending.
The Canadian Open is scheduled to begin on August 7, and the tournament organizers will certainly feel the Serbian’s absence. Djokovic has won the Canadian Open four times in his career, in 2007, 2011, 2012 and 2016. The Serb, who is 33-5 in 2023, has already won titles at the Australian Open and the French Open. He thanked Tournament Director Karl Hale for understanding.
“I have always enjoyed my time in Canada but after speaking with my team, we believe this is the right decision to take,” He 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.”
Hale said, “Of course, we’re disappointed that Novak won’t be playing at the National Bank Open this year. He’s an incredible player and one we know our fans were eager to watch at Sobeys Stadium. He will be missed but we still have a long list of sensational players confirmed for this year’s event, including 41 of the top 42 players in the world.”
Canada Open to feature USD 10 million in prize money, return of champion Carreno Busta
The Canada Open is set to begin on August 4 and will run until August 13. Hosted in Toronto, the event will feature top tennis players including Wimbledon champion Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and 2022 champion Pablo Carreno Busta. Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov will be representing their home countries.
The Open will have a total prize pool of USD10 million. The competition has come under some scrutiny for the higher prize pool reserved for the men’s division. The total prize pool for the men’s category is USD 6.6 million while for women it is USD 2.788 million. The men’s champion is set to receive 1000 ATP points and more than a million dollars while the woman champion will earn 900 WTA points and USD 454 thousand.
