Rafael Nadal Withdraws From Miami Open 2022

21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal is having an outstanding run on the ATP tour so far this season. After skipping the latter half of 2021 due to a foot injury, Rafa made a sensational comeback in Australia. First, he won the Melbourne Summer Set event and backed it up with an impeccable title run at the Australian Open.

His winning streak didn’t stop there. The Spaniard later was crowned the Mexican Open champion in Acapulco. Currently, Nadal is on an unbeatable 15-0 record this season. On Saturday, the Spaniard will start his journey at the Indian Wells against young American Sebastian Korda. However, there could be some bad news for all the Nadal fans in America.

Rafael Nadal is set to miss the Miami Masters

Before the Indian Wells, there were plenty of speculations over Nadal‘s participation at the Miami Masters. It appears that Nadal has decided to pull out of Miami Open.

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From the latest update over Miami’s entry list, the Spaniard has decided to take his name out to focus on clay-court preparation.

Understandably, Nadal is giving more importance to the European red-turf summer as he is eying a record-extending 14th French Open title in Paris.

Rafa gets ready for the Indian Wells

The news about missing the Miami Open came before Rafa?s first match at the Indian Wells Masters. Today, in his first match at the Indian Wells, Rafa will face 21-year-old American, Sebastian Korda. Korda has been performing really well in the recent past. In the first-round encounter, he beat Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets.

Previously, Rafa won the Indian Wells three times, as he?s eying his 4th title and 37th Masters 1000 in the Californian desert. However, he could face Daniil Medvedev again in the semi-final. If that happens, this will be their third meeting in a row. Previously, Nadal beat the Russian two times already this year.

In the meantime, Nadal’s Miami Open withdrawal does not come as a surprise as he aims to rest and regroup before the clay season begins in early April. Just like each year, if fully fit, one can expect Nadal to feature at Monte Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open, Madrid Masters, and Rome Masters before heading to Paris. Interestingly, we could also see Novak Djokovic at the French Open. It will be interesting to see if he can stop Rafa again this year.

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Could Rafa win his 14th French Open title in 2022? Let us know in the comments.