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Roger Federer of Switzerland looks on during his Men’s Singles Semifinal match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day eleven of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 30, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
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Roger Federer of Switzerland looks on during his Men’s Singles Semifinal match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day eleven of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 30, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
With the successful completion of the Mutua Madrid Open 2021, fans will witness some exciting tennis at the Italian Open 2021. The main event of the tournament will begin tomorrow, but some big names from the sport will miss the Rome Masters this year, including Roger Federer and Venus Williams.
Here is a list of players who will not be playing at the Italian Open 2021.
Roger Federer
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Roger Federer made his fans happy by returning to court at the Qatar Open 2021. He also announced that he will play at the French Open 2021 and the ATP Geneva Open 2021. However, Federer has opted to sit out the Rome Masters 2021 as he trims his schedule for optimum match fitness.
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Roger Federer of Switzerland looks on during his Men’s Singles Semifinal match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day eleven of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 30, 2020, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Even though the Swiss maestro has played four finals at the Italian Open, he hasn’t won a single title there. It is one of the tournaments that Federer hasn’t been able to conquer in his prolific career so far and that won’t be changing this year.
Stan Wawrinka
The 36-year-old Stan Wawrinka will not play at the Italian Open 2021. He last played at the Qatar Open 2021, where he got eliminated in the first round itself. After that, he suffered an unfortunate injury and hasn’t returned to the court yet.
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland reacts during his Men’s Singles fourth round match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day seven of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Wawrinka is one of those very few players to have defeated Rafael Nadal at the Italian Open. He even ended as the runner-up of the tournament in 2008 after losing to Novak Djokovic in the final.
Andy Murray
Even though Andy Murray is training himself in Rome at the moment, he’ll not be playing at the Italian Open this year. He recently hit the net with Djokovic in order to train himself for the upcoming Roland Garros 2021.
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Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – Britain’s Andy Murray during his first-round match against Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka REUTERS/Charles Platiau
Murray hasn’t played professional tennis since the ATP Rotterdam Open 2021. There are even chances that he might begin the French Open 2021 as a qualifier.
Venus Williams
Venus Williams was in the main draw of the Italian Open 2021 and had to face Karolina Pliskova in the first round. However, she withdrew herself from the event at the last moment.
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Venus Williams of the USA plays a forehand during her round of 16 matches against Lauren Davis of USA at the ASB Classic on January 03, 2019, in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Now, instead of the 7-time Grand Slam champion, Pliskova will play a lucky loser in the first round.
Nick Kyrgios
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios hasn’t played professional tennis since the Australian Open 2021. He is yet to begin his clay-court campaign, and fans had hoped that he would play at the Rome Masters this year. However, this is not the case as Kyrgios is not a part of the tournament.
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 12: Nick Kyrgios of Australia reacts in his Men’s Singles third round match against Dominic Thiem of Austria during day five of the 2021 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on February 12, 2021, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
The Australian will begin his clay-court season soon. He was going through an injury which is almost healed right now. Will Kyrgios be able to succeed at the French Open 2021?
John Isner
After playing exceptionally well at the Mutua Madrid Open 2021, John Isner withdrew from the Italian Open 2021 at the last moment. It appears that the 36-year-old needs some rest now and will return at the French Open 2021.
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AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – JANUARY 17: John Isner of USA serves against Ugo Humbert of France in the first semi-final during day five of the 2020 ASB Classic at ASB Tennis Centre on January 17, 2020, in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)
He managed to reach the quarters in Madrid and hit more than 100 aces in the three matches that he played there. However, Dominic Thiem made an incredible comeback and defeated him in the quarters.
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka recently injured her back again at the Mutua Madrid Open 2021. As a result, her opponent Jessica Pegula got a walkover in the second round of the tournament.
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Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 9, 2021, Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka leaves the court to receive medical attention during her first-round match against Jessica Pegula of the U.S. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
It appears that she hasn’t recovered from injury yet and therefore, will miss the Italian Open this year. The Belarusian player ended as the runner-up at the tournament in 2013 after she lost to Serena Williams in the finals in straight sets.
Bianca Andreescu
Like Venus Williams, Bianca Andreescu too was a part of the initial main draw. However, she also withdrew at the last moment right before the tournament.
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Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 10, 2021, Canada’s Bianca Andreescu during her second-round match against Taiwan’s Su-Wei Hsieh REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Andreescu missed the Mutua Madrid Open 2021 as well due to an injury. She hasn’t begun her clay-court season yet and will hope to recover from her injury soon.
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Other players who will be missing the Italian Open 2021
Along with these players, Madrid Open semi-finalist Casper Ruud, Milos Raonic, Borna Coric, Ons Jabeur, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Guido Pella, and Albert Ramos Vinolas are the other important players who will not be featuring at the Italian open 2021 this year.
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However, fans still have really high expectations from the tournament and want it to be a major hit. Who will emerge as the winner of the Rome Masters this year?
Also Read: Italian Open 2021: All You Need to Know About the Prize Money Breakdown For ATP and WTA Players
