Rafael Nadal withdraws from Laver Cup due to ‘personal reasons’
A day after Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Laver Cup event due to ‘personal reasons’
Rafael Nadal withdrew from this month’s Laver Cup event Friday due to “personal reasons.” And he will not enter the Indian Wells Masters tournament in April, either.
“There are some personal aspects that have led to this decision,” he wrote on his official Facebook page. “I’m very grateful for Laver Cup, and for the commitment it has raised to the levels we expect. I will be returning to the draw at the IOM in 2018 and I invite everyone to enjoy the competition.”
Nadal had withdrawn before Friday’s singles first-round match against Richard Gasquet, so there was no suspense in the event.
But there was a sense of dread over Nadal’s withdrawal from another competition. He had won the event two years ago and would be looking to win it a third time.
“It was very sad, because it’s a great competition and we were going to play there,” Nadal wrote on his Facebook page.
Earlier Friday, it had been reported that Nadal wasn’t even going to the singles competition because he didn’t have his clay court schedule out, but was going to Indian Wells Masters.
The withdrawal could have a ripple effect on the men’s draw, as it would leave Nadal as a top-seed in at least one quarterfinal. He is seeded No. 1 in the singles and second overall at Indian Wells.
The change to the draw had been expected, and the tournament had worked out in the men’s draw to bring Nadal into the main draw as a No. 2 seed in the men’s doubles. The top-seed in the men’s singles will be No. 3-seed Jack Sock.
It had also been anticipated that Nadal could enter the men’s singles with his compatriot Roger Federer. But in the end the Swiss, who has won 14 Grand Slam singles, decided against competing in Indian Wells. Nadal’s other partner for the event, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga,