Dizzy Nadal retires, Wawrinka upset in Miami

Published by AP

Rafael Nadal leaves the court after retiring from his second-round match against Damir Dzumhur at the Miami Open; Getty Images

Rafael Nadal faded in the subtropical heat and retired after falling behind in the third set of his opening match Saturday at the Miami Open against Damir Dzumhur.

The No. 5-seeded Nadal trailed 2-6 6-4 3-0 when he called it quits after losing a point to fall behind 30-15. He had earlier consulted with a trainer three times at his chair between games, and had his blood pressure checked.

The match lasted less than two hours, but the weather was sunny and humid with a temperature approaching 90 degrees, and even higher on the stadium hard court.

It had been 443 matches since Nadal last retired in the 2010 Australian Open quarterfinals against Andy Murray.

Nadal said he started feeling ill at the end of the first set. “It was getting worse and worse and worse,” he said.

“I get a little bit scared – too dizzy. I felt I was not safe, so I decided to go. I wanted to finish the match, but I seriously couldn’t.”

Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion, hasn’t won a tournament since August. Key Biscayne remains one of the biggest tournaments he has yet to win – he is 0-4 in Miami finals.

Dzumhur, a 23-year-old Bosnian ranked 94th, rallied with a variety of tactics, including half a dozen drop shots for winners and an occasional serve-and-volley.

The heat also appeared to bother Dzumhur, who consulted with a trainer following the first set.

Nadal’s departure left the draw without three of the five highest-seeded men.

Wawrinka earlier suffered a shock 6-4 6-3 loss to world No.51 Russian Andrey Kuznetsov and No. 3 Roger Federer withdrew Friday because of a stomach virus.

Kei Nishikori defeated qualifier Pierre-Hughes Herbert 6-2 7-6(4) while Milos Raonic, the runner-up at Indian Wells this month, beat Denis Kudla 7-6(4) 6-4 to also advance and he will play Jack Sock in the third round.

In-form Frenchman Gael Monfils is also through to the third round with a comfortable 6-3 6-2 win over Japanese qualifier Tatsuma Ito.

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