Nadal explains why he chose to skip the Miami Open

World No.4 Rafael Nadal announced earlier this week that he would be skipping the Miami Open, the second ATP Masters event that immediately follows the BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells and later explained the reason behind his decision.

The 36-year old stated he wanted to give his body a break before the clay-court season, admitting that a swift transition from hardcourt to clay would have been "dangerous".

"I didn’t play Miami for the last couple of years. I am almost 36. I played much more than what I expected at the beginning of the season,” the five-time Miami Open runner-up said.

“For my body, it is not good to have quick transitions from different surfaces. Clay to hard — well, hard to clay. If I play Miami, I will not have time to rest and not time to make a swift transition to the clay.

“I need to push since the beginning very hard, so that’s dangerous for my foot, for my knees. I need to make that transitions step by step. I cannot make drastic changes like I did in the past, so that’s why I decided to stop after here and to have, like, three weeks before the clay court season start for me.”

The 21-time Grand Slam champion has been in impeccable form this season, starting the year with a 17-0 unbeaten record for the first time in his career. After starting his season with a title at the Melbourne Summer Set, the Spaniard went on to lift the trophy at the Australian Open, before heading to Acapulco for the Mexico Open, which he also won.