Rafael Nadal refuses a wild card offered to challenge the likes of Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev in Dubai. The world no.2 seems to be more and more prone to get back for the clay-court season especially after he got injured to his back during the Australian Open.
Nadal posted a nice message on social media thanking the organization of the upcoming ATP500 that will be staged in Dubai for offering an invitational wild card. Rafa commented:
“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.”
The entry list
Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev are still part of a very competitive entry list with the following players
| 1 | Dominic Thiem |
| 2 | Roger Federer |
| 3 | Andrey Rublev |
| 4 | Denis Shapovalov |
| 5 | Roberto Bautista Agut |
| 6 | David Goffin |
| 7 | Pablo Carreno Busta |
| 8 | Stan Wawrinka |
| 9 | Karen Khachanov |
| 10 | Alex de Minaur |
| 11 | Borna Coric |
| 12 | Dusan Lajovic |
| 13 | Daniel Evans |
| 14 | Hubert Hurkacz |
| 15 | Filip Krajinovic |
| 16 | Taylor Fritz |
| Jannik Sinner | |
| Lorenzo Sonego | |
| Jan-Lennard Struff | |
| Reilly Opelka | |
| Kei Nishikori | |
| John Millman | |
| Nikoloz Basilashvili | |
| Alexander Bublik | |
| Marton Fucsovics | |
| Albert Ramos-Vinolas | |
| Richard Gasquet | |
| Alejandro Davidovich Fokina | |
| Jordan Thompson | |
| Aliaz Bedene |
Rafael Nadal in 2021
Ranked no.2, Rafael 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).
At the moment, during this season Nadal has a compiled 4-1 record.
Federer in Doha, ranking, and results in 2021
Currently the world no.6, Federer has a 1-0 match record in 2021. Federer is playing in Doha where he toppled Daniel Evans 7-68 3-6 7-5.
Roger Federer will play Basilashvili in the quarter. Their actual head to head record is 1-0 for Federer.
Federer won 103 titles in his career: 47 on hard courts, 11 on clay courts, 21 on indoor courts, 5 on carpet courts and 19 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer clashed against each other 40 times. Their record is 24-16 for Nadal. Previously, the last time when they squared off, Roger Federer won 7-6(3) 1-6 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in London (Wimbledon) in July 2019.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Thiem in Doha, ranking, and results in 2021
Currently ranked no.4, Dominic has managed to achieve an overall 5-2 win-loss record in 2021. Thiem is playing in Doha where he managed to beat Aslan Karatsev 6-75 6-3 6-2.
Dominic Thiem will fight against Bautista-Agut in the quarter. Their head to head is 3-1 for Bautista-Agut.
Dominic won 17 titles in his career: 4 on hard courts, 10 on clay courts, 2 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Andrey Rublev in 2021
Currently the world no.8 (career-high), the Russian played his last match on the 7th of March when he defeated Marton Fucsovics 7-6(4) 6-4 in the final in Rotterdam to win his 8th career title.
Currently, during this year Andrey has a 13-1 match record. Andrey conquered 1 title in Rotterdam.
Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev played each other 5 times. The head to head is 3-2 for Rublev. The last time they competed against each other, Andrey Rublev won 6-2 7-5 in the round robin in London (Nitto ATP Finals) in November 2020.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.