Nadal Withdraws Ahead Of Indian Wells Semi-final
Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, ahead of his semi-final against longtime rival Roger Federer. The Spaniard cited right knee pain as the cause of his withdrawal.
"As I said yesterday after the match, I felt that something happened in the knee," Nadal said. "I wanted to try my best to be competitive today. I warmed up today in the morning and I felt that my knee was not enough good to compete at the level that I need to compete, to play the semi-finals of this event."
Nadal was set to meet Federer for the 39th time in their storied rivalry. He enjoyed a dominant week in Indian Wells prior to the injury, reaching the semis without dropping a set. The Mallorca native defeated Jared Donaldson, Diego Schwartzman, Filip Krajinovic and Karen Khachanov to advance to his first semi-final at the ATP Masters 1000 event since 2016.
"For me it is not about today only. It's about what it means for me to have to pull out in a tournament that I love so much like this one, and in the semi-finals after playing well during the whole tournament. You can imagine that I can't be happy. So that's all. Sometimes it is tough and can be frustrating for me personally to go through all this stuff."
The World No. 2 owns an 11-2 record this year, also reaching the final at the Australian Open and second round in Acapulco.
.@RafaelNadal has withdrawn from the tournament due to a right knee injury. We wish Rafa a speedy recovery.
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 16, 2019
Roger Federer advances to the final by walkover.#BNPPO19 pic.twitter.com/XXahjOyOXn