Andy Murray has withdrawn ahead of his match against Novak Djokovic in the round of 16 at the Madrid Open on Thursday, citing an illness.
Murray, 34, a three-time major winner, was set to face Djokovic for the 37th time in a highly anticipated clash on clay at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the Spanish capital.
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“Unfortunately, Andy Murray is unable to take to the Manolo Santana Stadium due to illness,” tournament organisers said in a statement on social media.
“Instead, Andrey Rublev and Daniel Evans will open the day’s play on centre court.”
Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals with a walkover victory. He will face the winner of Hubert Hurkacz vs. Dusan Lajovic.
Murray, who had earlier said he would skip the clay-court season in order to protect his fitness, accepted a late wild card in Madrid and beat Dominic Thiem and Denis Shapovalov in his opening two matches.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report.
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