Rafael Nadal pulls out of Miami Open because of back issue

MIAMI (AP) - Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Miami Open on Tuesday because of the bad back that bothered him during the Australian Open.

The hard-court tournament begins next Tuesday.

“For the moment I need to fully recover from my back problem and start to get ready for the upcoming clay court season in Europe,” Nadal said in a statement.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion earlier withdrew from this month’s tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands. At the Australian Open he lost in the quarterfinals to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

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