Serbia’s legendary tennis star
Novak Djokovic and his partner
Miomir Kecmanovic withdrew from the
Paris Masters doubles category.
The pair qualified for the round of 16 after beating Aleksandr
Nedovyesov and Gonzalo Escobar in the round of 32 clash with a score of 6-4,
6-2.
They were due to face India’s Rohan Bopanna and Australia’s Matthew
Ebden but the pair decided to withdraw from the category last minute.
It is not clear why they ended up withdrawing from the
competition, especially after Djokovic confirmed earlier that he is partnering with Kecmanovic
to prepare for the upcoming
Davis Cup quarterfinal clash against Great Britain.
“Yes it is," he said when asked whether playing in a team
category is a part of the preparation for the upcoming Davis Cup.
"Actually it’s the main reason why we are playing here is trying to
prepare for Davis Cup and have another I guess doubles pair, doubles
combination that we can rely on.
"Obviously not ideal for the format of the Davis Cup that
we have nowadays where it’s really decisive. If you split wins after singles,
doubles decides and we play Great Britain that obviously has had for decades
the best doubles players in the world. So it’s going to be very tough and
that’s why we’re trying to get as much of the doubles match play as we possibly
can."
Despite the withdrawal, Djokovic is still taking part in the
singles category where he defeated Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the
round of 32 clash with a score of 6-3, 6-2.
He is now set to face
off Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor in the round of 16 clash on Thursday.