Injured Djokovic joins Murray on Miami casualty list

MIAMI, Florida: World number two Novak Djokovic won’t defend his Miami Masters title next week, saying on Sunday that he was withdrawing because of an elbow injury, the same ailment that has also sidelined top-ranked Andy Murray.

“Sadly, I won’t be able to defend my title in Miami this week,” Djokovic said in a Facebook posting.

“My doctor has strongly advised against play because my elbow injury, that I keep carrying on for months, got worse in the past week. I will do everything in my power to recover and do all the necessary therapy to be able to return on court as soon as possible.”

Djokovic joins world number one Murray on the sidelines for the elite hard court tournament. Murray pulled out on Saturday, also with an elbow injury.

Even as Murray withdrew, there were reports that Djokovic was seeing a doctor in Monte Carlo about elbow trouble after falling in the fourth round to 16th-ranked Nick Kyrgios at the Indian Wells Masters.

Djokovic’s loss to Kyrgios was his second in as many weeks to the Australian, who also upset him in the quarter-finals at Acapulco.

“Believe me, it is as shocking to me as it is to you,” Djokovic told his fans on Facebook.

“I had incredible run in Miami, I won there my first Masters tournament and started my campaign towards the top of the world rankings. No wonder they say that in sport the biggest and most painful defeats come from injuries, and not from opponents.

“I am lucky that throughout my career I didn’t have many injuries, but I guess that all that I’ve been through physically in the past so many years did leave a mark on my body.”

Djokovic, a 12-time Grand Slam champion, announced the move on Twitter, saying, “I apologize to my fans and ppl who purchased tickets to watch me play live at @MiamiOpen. Sadly, I’m injured and won’t be able to compete.”