INDIAN WELLS – Rafael Nadal abandoned his planned ATP Tour comeback at the Indian Wells Masters on March 6, saying he was not ready for the demands of tournament tennis on the eve of his opening match in California.
The Spanish icon’s bombshell decision came just days after the 37-year-old lost a Las Vegas exhibition to compatriot and world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz.
Nadal missed almost all of the 2023 season with abdominal and other injuries, and has played only the Brisbane International this season, where he suffered a flare-up of a hip injury.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion had been due to open at Indian Wells on March 7 against Canada’s former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic.
“It is with great sadness that I have to withdraw from this amazing tournament at Indian Wells. I have been working hard... but I don’t find myself ready to play at the highest level at such an important event,” Nadal said in a statement.
“It is not an easy decision. It’s a tough one, as a matter of fact, but I can’t lie to myself and lie to the thousands of fans. I will miss you all and I am sure the tournament will be a great success.”
Indian Wells tournament director Tommy Haas expressed disappointment at losing Nadal, who will be replaced by lucky loser Sumit Nagal.
“We wish him continued healing and hope he can be back in action again soon. He is one of the all-time fan favourites here, and we hope to see him back in Indian Wells again in the future,” Haas said.
Nadal will now turn his attention to his favourite clay surface, with an eye towards a record-extending 15th French Open title and a second Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games, where tennis will be contested at Roland Garros.
Also having to deal with injury concerns in recent years is Andy Murray, but the Briton delivered a serving masterclass to beat David Goffin 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of Indian Wells on March 6.
Murray, who will next meet fifth seed Andrey Rublev, said getting his serve working well made all the difference.
“For me, it was the serve,” said Murray, who won 85 per cent of his first-serve points and hit four aces.
“That frees up a lot of the rest of my game. When you’re always having to fight and work for points on your own serve, you feel more under pressure. But today I got a lot of free points off my serve.
“That freed me up in the return games and I was able to strike the ball well from the back of the court, defended well when I had to. An all-round solid performance.”
Injury also robbed the women’s draw of a former champion, after 2021 winner Paula Badosa withdrew following a back problem, which has affected her since Wimbledon last season.
Meanwhile, top seed Iga Swiatek, who has a bye into the second round at Indian Wells, has vowed to go all out in the run-up to the July 26-Aug 11 Olympics, with the world No. 1 unwilling to moderate her packed WTA tournament schedule.
“Some voices in my team are telling me to maybe play smarter and miss some events, focus on the important ones, maybe not rush for (ranking) points,” the 22-year-old Pole said on March 6.
“I thought about that, but I still want to play everything at this stage. It would be hard for me to decide to miss tournaments and take time to be fresh and recover.
“I may do that later, but (for now) I want to be ready for the Olympics and other important tournaments.” AFP, REUTERS
