Alcaraz won’t be starting his summer on hard courts in Montreal next week.

BREAKING: Carlos Alcaraz joins Novak Djokovic in making this expected decision

© Getty Images Sport – Vaughn Ridley

Carlos Alcaraz has made one expected decision after reaching the Paris Olympics quarterfinal as the Spaniard is joining Novak Djokovic in pulling out of the Montreal Masters and delaying the start of his North American hard-court swing.

On Thursday – two days after Djokovic decided to skip Montreal – the Montreal Masters organizers announced that Alcaraz also decided to withdraw from this year’s National Bank Open edition due to “fatigue.” While it’s certainly very disappointing for the National Bank Open organizers not to have the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion at the tournament, it is not surprising considering that the 21-year-old is currently competing on clay courts while the hard court Masters event in Montreal starts on Tuesday, August 6th,

“It has been a very long season for me and due to the accumulation of matches and fatigue, I will not be able to play in Montreal this year. I was really looking forward to coming back to Canada and enjoying the love of the fans. Hope to see everyone in Montreal in the years to come!” Alcaraz said in a statement.

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Carlos AlcarazCarlos Alcaraz© Getty Images Sport – Minas Panagiotakis

No third National Bank Open appearance for Alcaraz this year

Two years ago in his National Bank Open debut, Alcaraz arrived as a two-time Masters champion but disappointingly lost in his opener to Tommy Paul. Last year when the National Bank Open was taking place in Toronto, Alcaraz did better and won his first two matches before losing again to Paul – this time in the quarterfinal.

Since Alcaraz has had a big last few months and is now a four-time Grand Slam champion, there is no doubt that he would have been among the top favorites for the Montreal title had he played in Montreal this year.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz doubles campaign with Rafael Nadal finished on Wednesday but the Spaniard is still through to the singles semifinal, in which he plays against either Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime.