Andy Murray Withdraws from Novak Djokovic Match at Madrid Open Due to Food Poisoning

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Andy Murray has withdrawn from his Thursday match against Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open due to food poisoning.

"I had a message yesterday from Andy that he was not feeling well," Tournament director Feliciano Lopez told The Telegraph. "He had food poisoning, it sounds like he is feeling better this morning but is still not well enough to go on the court."

Murray, 34, who accepted a late wild card entry in the Madrid Open, won his first two matches of the tournament, defeating Dominic Thiem and Denis Shapovalov. Thursday's highly-anticipated match would have been the 37th face-off between Murray and Djokovic and their first since 2017.

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"Unfortunately, Andy Murray is unable to take to the Manolo Santana Stadium due to illness," tournament organizers announced on Twitter. "We wish you a speedy recovery, @andy_murray!"

"Instead, Andrey Rublev and Daniel Evans will open the day's play on centre court," the statement added.

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No. 1 Djokovic, 34, will now automatically advance to the quarterfinals, facing off with the winner of the match between Hubert Hurkacz and Dusan Lajovic.

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Earlier this week, both Murray and Djokovic expressed their excitement to compete against each other.

"He's the world No 1 and I've got a metal hip," Murray told reporters, referring to his hip surgeries in 2018 and 2019. "I didn't know I'd get opportunities to play matches like this again. In theory, I shouldn't have a chance in the match. But I've worked my hardest, put myself in a great position and it's a fantastic opportunity to play against him again on a big court in a huge tournament."

"He's one of the most important names that we have," Djokovic said of Murray, who won the Madrid Open in 2008 and 2015. "To have him still compete is great, and to have him even play at the high level as the time goes by is impressive, considering the surgery and what he has been through in the last few years. His resilience and fighting spirit is really inspiring."