Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have officially withdrawn from the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai, as confirmed by the tournament’s official Entry List. With Djokovic and Nadal absent, the top seed will be taken up by Daniil Medvedev, who recently reached the finals in Melbourne but lost despite holding a two-set lead.
Other notable participants include Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz, who had impressive runs in the Australian Open, making it to the quarter-finals but losing to Jannik Sinner and Medvedev, respectively. The remaining seeds for the Dubai tournament include Adrian Mannarino, Karen Khachanov, Ugo Humbert, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Jan-Lennard Struff.
Regarding Nadal, the iconic Spanish player may be considered for a wild card entry should he choose to participate in the Dubai tournament. Nadal faced a minor injury setback during his match against Jordan Thompson in Brisbane, causing him to skip the first Grand Slam of the season. As per his team’s information, Nadal is set to compete in Doha from February 19th to 24th. On the contrary, Djokovic’s situation appears to be different.
Both Djokovic and Nadal have decided to skip the Dubai tournament in 2024. Djokovic, after reflecting on his performance and defeat in the Australian Open semifinal against Jannik Sinner, expressed the need to let his thoughts settle before deciding on future tournaments. The 36-year-old Serbian, having participated in three of the last four editions of the Dubai event, has opted to take a break and is now focusing on the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells instead. This decision suggests a deliberate pause in his schedule before returning to competitive play.
