The much-anticipated battle did not take place, Murray was unable to play Djokovic due to alleged poisoning

The next installment of the ATP Masters 1000 series got underway in Madrid, Spain on Saturday, April 30, and fans have already had a chance to watch some decent matches. However, the much anticipated duel between Novak Djokovic and Britain’s Murray did not take place, as the three-time Grand Slam winner was unable to take part in the match.

British tennis player Andy Murray could not enter the surely attractive contest against Serbian Djokovic.

According to Eurosport , alleged food poisoning is to blame. Murray has already defeated former Grand Slam champion Dominic Thiem and world number 16 Denis Shapovalov.

Dan Evans and Andrey Rublev played their match on Centre Court instead of this eight-final match.

The former world number one last faced the current top tennis player in 2017, specifically on the occasion of the final duel in Doha.

However, Murray has subsequently undergone two hip surgeries, stating before the match that he probably wouldn’t stand a chance against Djokovic for that exact reason.

“I got a message from Andy yesterday that he wasn’t feeling well. He had food poisoning and although he sounded better this morning, he is still not well enough to be able to stand on the court,” Feliciano Lopez, the Madrid tournament boss, explained in an interview with the Daily Mail .

Djokovic will face either his compatriot Dusan Lajovic or 12th seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the quarter-finals of the famous event.

Sources: Eurosport, Daily Mail