Rafael Nadal has announced that he will not play the Doha tournament and that his reappearance in the competition will be, initially in Indian Wells, two months after his last match, in the Brisbane tournament, against the Australian Jordan Thompson.
The winner of twenty-two Grand Slams, who left Brisbane after losing in the third round, with a muscle ailment in his hip, had scheduled his comeback for Doha, in a tournament that will be held from February 19 to 24. But he has confirmed on social networks that his return will be at the beginning of March, in the exhibition in Las Vegas against Carlos Alcaraz.
"I would have loved to play in Doha, where the tournament organisers, as well as the fantastic Qatari fans, have always supported me enormously. Unfortunately I am not ready to compete and will not be able to come to Doha where I really wanted to be and play again after that unforgettable victory in 2014. I will focus on continuing to work to be ready for the exhibition in Las Vegas and the incredible Indian Wells tournament," Nadal said on social networks.
The Spaniard will take to the court again at the Las Vegas exhibition, against Carlos Alcaraz, on March 3. Three days later, the start of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 is set, which he has won three times, the last in 2013, and where he will coincide with the best players on the circuit, including the Murcian tennis player and the Serbian Novak Djokovic, world number one. .
Nadal had already hinted at the possibility of not playing in Doha because he considered that it was "fair." "Not only tennis and physically, but also mentally. I am confident that I will be one hundred percent in Indian Wells. It is a very special tournament for me and I don't know if it will be the last time I will play it," Indian.
