Rafael Nadal refuses Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships invitation
ATPThursday, 11 March 2021 at 10:15
World no. 2 Rafael Nadal refused the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships wild card, saying he is still not ready to compete due to back issues.
The organizers wanted to see Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the draw, but the Spaniard spoiled their plans, as he needs more time to heel the injury and return at 100%. Rafa hasn't played since the Australian Open when he wasted two sets to love advantage against Stefanos Tsitsipas, suffering one of the toughest losses at Majors and deciding to skip Acapulco.
The Spaniard competed in Dubai four times during his early years on the Tour, winning the title in 2006 after beating Roger Federer in the title match. Rafa lost in the quarters in the next two editions, with his 2008 quarter-final loss to Andy Roddick standing as his last Dubai match so far.
"I would like to thank the @DDFTennis for the wild card invitation sent to me. We seriously thought about coming to play, but I don't think I am ready to play yet. Once again, thanks to the tournament's kind invitation and best of luck with the tournament," Rafael Nadal said.
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- A lot of top players with injuries now. Could be a coincidence. Still we have a lot of big tournaments in 4/5 months.
AceOfBase06-05-2024 - Iga never gets an easy draw in any tournament she plays. So that statement is far from the truth. Sabalenka has difficulty because all she wants to do is stand up and serve. She is not a tennis player. If she gets the opponents Iga have, she would be ousted earlier.crissy06-05-2024
- Trickery. Playing the system seems to be a way of life in general these days.
mandoist05-05-2024 - Just be honest... This era of pro sports "couples" are merely easy hookups for sex while on the Tour. Like Hollywood and music biz (except they call it "dating")mandoist05-05-2024
- Piece of cake for Djoko like this :-)AceOfBase05-05-2024
