Rafael Nadal is 40-12 at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami but he has been forced to withdraw from this year's event due to a back injury; the 20-time Grand Slam champion says he plans to get ready for the upcoming clay-court season in Europe
Tuesday 16 March 2021 19:11, UK
Rafael Nadal has confirmed he will miss the Miami Open that begins later this month in a bid to recover from a back injury in time for the clay-court swing.
The Spaniard has not played since his dramatic quarter-final exit to Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Australian Open last month.
Nadal, who also skipped the ATP 500 event in Dubai, has dropped down one place in the rankings to third after Russian Daniil Medvedev leapfrogged him earlier this week.
"Sad to announce that I won't be playing in Miami, a city that I love," Nadal wrote on Twitter.
"I need to fully recover and get ready for the clay-court season in Europe. Special message to my fans in the US and in particular to the great Spanish speaking community FL, who always give me a great support!"
The Miami Open is a hard court tournament which Nadal has never won despite reaching the final five times between 2005 and 2017.
Nadal, 34, could possibly be targeting the Monte Carlo Masters in April and the Madrid Open in May as he looks to get into top shape for the French Open at Roland Garros where he has won a record 13 times.
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