Rafael Nadal predictably decided to skip the Miami Open, leaving Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas as the top favorites. Rafa got injured to his lower back at the Australian Open and it looked unplausible that he would have played any tournament before the clay-court season. It was clear that the world no.3 would have pulled out from Miami after he withdrew from Rotterdam and he publicly rejected a wild card in Dubai.
This was Nadal’s statement on social media:
“Sad to announce that I won’t be playing in Miami, a city that I love. I need to fully recover and get ready for the clay court season in Europe. Special message to my fans in the US and in particular to the great Spanish-speaking community FL who always give me great support!”
The Miami Open has lot many top players on the men’s side such as Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios and now Rafael Nadal.
| Entry | Player | Rank |
| 1 | Novak Djokovic | 1 |
| 2 | Daniil Medvedev | 2 |
| 3 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 5 |
| 4 | Alexander Zverev | 7 |
| 5 | Andrey Rublev | 8 |
| 6 | Diego Schwartzman | 9 |
| 7 | Matteo Berrettini | 10 |
| 8 | Roberto Bautista Agut | 11 |
| 9 | Denis Shapovalov | 12 |
| 10 | David Goffin | 13 |
| 11 | Gael Monfils | 14 |
| 12 | Pablo Carreno Busta | 15 |
| 13 | Grigor Dimitrov | 16 |
| 14 | Fabio Fognini | 17 |
| 15 | Felix Auger-Aliassime | 18 |
| 16 | Milos Raonic | 19 |
| 17 | Cristian Garin | 20 |
| 18 | Karen Khachanov | 22 |
| 19 | Alex de Minaur | 23 |
| 20 | Borna Coric | 24 |
| 21 | Casper Ruud | 25 |
| 22 | Dusan Lajovic | 26 |
| 23 | John Isner | 27 |
| 24 | Daniel Evans | 28 |
| 25 | Ugo Humbert | 29 |
| 26 | Taylor Fritz | 30 |
| 27 | Benoit Paire | 31 |
| 28 | Jannik Sinner | 32 |
| 29 | Filip Krajinovic | 33 |
| 30 | Adrian Mannarino | 34 |
| 31 | Hubert Hurkacz | 35 |
| 32 | Nikoloz Basilashvili | 36 |
| Lorenzo Sonego | 37 | |
| Reilly Opelka | 38 | |
| Jan-Lennard Struff | 39 | |
| John Millman | 40 | |
| Kei Nishikori | 41 | |
| Aslan Karatsev | 42 | |
| Alexander Bublik | 43 | |
| Marton Fucsovics | 44 | |
| Marin Cilic | 45 | |
| Miomir Kecmanovic | 46 | |
| Albert Ramos-Vinolas | 47 | |
| Tommy Paul | 51 | |
| Alejandro Davidovich Fokina | 52 | |
| Jeremy Chardy | 53 | |
| Laslo Djere | 54 | |
| Jordan Thompson | 55 | |
| Frances Tiafoe | 56 | |
| Tennys Sandgren | 58 | |
| Aljaz Bedene | 59 | |
| Sam Querrey | 60 | |
| Cameron Norrie | 61 | |
| Feliciano Lopez | 62 | |
| Kyle Edmund | 63 | |
| Yoshihito Nishioka | 64 | |
| Vasek Pospisil | 65 | |
| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 66 | |
| Stefano Travaglia | 68 | |
| Jiri Vesely | 69 | |
| Fernando Verdasco | 70 | |
| Dominik Koepfer | 71 | |
| Corentin Moutet | 74 | |
| Thiago Monteiro | 75 | |
| Radu Albot | 76 | |
| Egor Gerasimov | 77 | |
| Soonwoo Kwon | 78 | |
| Federico Delbonis | 79 | |
| Lloyd Harris | 81 | |
| Steve Johnson | 82 | |
| Salvatore Caruso | 84 | |
| Marcos Giron | 85 | |
| Emil Ruusuvuori | 87 | |
| Ricardas Berankis | 88 | |
| Marco Cecchinato | 89 | |
| Kevin Anderson | 90 | |
| Juan Ignacio Londero | 91 | |
| Pedro Martinez | 93 | |
| (WC) Andy Murray | 118 | |
| (WC) Carlos Alcaraz | 132 | |
| (WC) Hugo Gaston | 161 | |
| (WC) Michael Mmoh | 181 | |
| (WC) Jack Draper | 316 | |
| Yen-Hsun Lu | 1017 |
Rafael Nadal in 2021
Ranked world no.3, the Spaniard played his last match on the 17th of February when he capitulated to Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 2-6 7-6(4) 6-4 7-5 in the quarter of the Australian Open (draw).
This season Nadal has managed to achieve a 4-1 win-loss record.
Novak Djokovic in 2021
Ranked no.1, Novak played his last match on the 21st of February when he overcame Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-2 6-2 in the final of the Australian Open to win his 82nd career title.
Currently, during this year Novak achieved a 9-0 win-loss record. The Serbian has won 1 title at the Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic squared off 56 times. Their current record is 29-27 for Djokovic. Previously, the last time they competed against each other, Rafael Nadal won 6-0 6-2 7-5 in the final in Paris (French Open) in October 2020.
Here the highlights.
Daniil Medvedev in 2021
Now the world no.2 (career-high), the Russian played his last match on the 14th of March when he beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4 6-7(4) 6-4 in the final in Marseille to win his 10th career title.
At the moment, during this season Daniil has a 14-2 record. The Russian clinched 1 title in Marseille. Medvedev was the finalist at the Australian Open.
Tsitsipas in Acapulco, ranking, and results in 2021
At the moment ranked no.5 (career-high), Stefanos has achieved a compiled 11-3 match record in 2021. Tsitsipas is currently playing in Acapulco where he beat
Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on Isner in the 2nd round. Their current record is 2-2.
Tsitsipas won 5 titles in his career: 1 on clay courts and 4 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas played each other 7 times. The head to head is 6-1 for Medvedev. The last time they squared off, Daniil Medvedev won 6-4 6-2 7-5 in the semifinal in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 19th of February 2021.
In the video below you can watch the highlights.
