"I think it is dumb to treat it that way": Rafael Nadal playing exhibition then withdrawing from Indian Wells shouldn't be criticised says Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick defended Rafael Nadal's decision to withdraw from Indian Wells despite playing an exhibition against Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas. The Spaniard pulled out of a tournament for the third consecutive time this year, following the Australian Open and Qatar Open, having played in only one event since his return.

It was expected that Nadal would be present at Tennis Paradise, but once again, his physical condition was not optimal. The 22-times Grand Slam champion prioritized more rest time before the clay season.

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Nadal had faced Alcaraz on March 3 in the Netflix Slam exhibition, which ended in favor of Carlos with a score of 3-6, 6-4, (14-12), just four days before his scheduled debut against Milos Raonic. Some criticized Nadal's participation in the event if he wasn't in good physical shape, a point Andy Roddick addressed on his podcast, Served with Andy Roddick:

“I was in Vegas, able to see him play the exhibition – the Netflix Slam – with Carlos Alcaraz. It’s not as if he pitched up to Vegas all of a sudden,” he said. “He was in Palm Springs for a week before that, not because he cared about playing in the exhibition, it’s because he cared about playing in Palm Springs.”

“Got there, was getting used to the surface, trying to go through his paces properly. Because he played in an exhibition, it doesn’t mean he is ready to go. Is he gonna go rip his body apart if his goal is to win one match at Indian Wells?

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“No, every single decision that he has made from this point forward, and probably for the last year and a half – maybe that is a slight stretch, but 15 months – has been let’s work backwards from the possibility of playing Roland Garros.. That didn’t work out last year, we didn’t see him until the New Year started, we didn’t see him until January, he wanted to get some match reps in not because he thought he could win the Australian Open, great if he finds something, but because he wants to work backwards from the French Open."

“An exo is very different … these guys put on a great show in Vegas, they did everything they had to do to make it entertaining, but that is very different than going through the best players on earth on a stickier surface,” Andy Roddick said. "Because you can play two sets against someone you are friendly with when you know they are compromised too doesn’t mean they are apples to apples. I think it is dumb to treat it that way.

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“Rafa gets the benefit of the doubt, he didn’t just come over for an exhibition. He gets the benefit of the doubt, he is not going to say ‘I am not playing Indian Wells if he’s not,’ the former world No. 1 added. “It would have been a perfectly acceptable explanation to say ‘Hey I don’t know if I can play six or seven matches on a gritty hard court right now, but I can play a couple of sets indoors and I look forward to playing the Netflix Slam’.

“No one would have cared, that’s rational so I don’t know why all of a sudden we are up in arms about that right now,” he concluded.