I want to be ready for Miami as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer & Dominic Thiem are not gonna be there: Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev recently shared his aspirations for the 2021 Miami Masters, where the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem will be absent. During the press conference after his Round of 16 win at the Dubai Open, Rublev remarked that he intends to practice as much as he can before the Masters 1000 tournament so that he can make use of the opportunity.

The Russian also added that he has virtually no points to defend at the 1000-level events in 2021. The absence of Rafael Nadal and a couple of the other stars means that everyone else has a chance to accumulate some points in Miami.

"Of course. I want to be as much ready as I can for Miami, because as you said, there's gonna be no Rafael Nadal, no Roger Federer and no Dominic Thiem. And in my case, all 1000s tournaments, I have no points there," Rublev said.

Editor's Note: Rublev also mentioned there would be no Novak Djokovic, but that might have been a slip of the tongue; as of now there has been no indication from Djokovic's camp that he is skipping Miami.

Andrey Rublev added that doing well at Miami was an opportunity too good to miss, and that he saw it as a 'great challenge' for himself.

"So I can win a lot of points by winning a couple of matches, if I go farther I can win a lot of points. So, really great challenge for me," Rublev added.

Andrey Rublev also spoke about the debilitating pressure he puts on himself to succeed at times. The World No. 8 insisted that he was not someone who was prepared to compromise, and that he used fear to help himself improve.

"Maybe it's this kind of fear, that it's not enough," Rublev said. "The fear maybe I'm not gonna make it or fear that I'm not gonna be good enough for a while. In the end, the fear helps me to improve. So, that's why I want to improve and improve."

Rafael Nadal trying to be 100% for clay season, Dominic Thiem and Roger Federer also out of contention for Miami

Rafael Nadal

Five-time Miami finalist Rafael Nadal has been dealing with a back injury since the start of the season. Earlier this week, the Spaniard announced his withdrawal from Miami while claiming that he wanted some more time to recover fully for the clay season.

But the first player to officially withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament was Roger Federer, who made his much-awaited return in Doha. The Swiss maestro realized he was not ready to play at a high level yet, and subsequently announced his withdrawal from the event.

Dominic Thiem soon followed suit, withdrawing from the hardcourt event after losing to Lloyd Harris in the second round at Dubai.