Reasons for Rafael Nadal having zero Miami Open titles looked into by John Isner and Sam Querrey

Sam Querrey and John Isner made their feelings known about Rafael Nadal not winning a single Miami Open title in his career in their podcast's latest episode. The Spaniard announced his retirement in October last year.

In episode 48 of their podcast, Nothing Major, Querrey and Isner discussed several aspects of tennis and answered multiple questions about the Miami Open from their viewers. One of their viewers asked an interesting question about their thoughts on why Nadal never won a Miami Open title.

This question was explored by both the hosts, where Querrey said that he did not have a good answer because he always thought that Nadal had won everything in his career. However, Isner, on the other end, gave a detailed analysis behind the Spaniard not winning the title at Miami Open, stating that the hardcourt tournaments weren't his thing.

Along with this, he also said that since Nadal gave exceptional performances at the Indian Wells and the Miami Open is right after it, the pressure took a toll on the player's body. (26:06 onwards)

"I think you assume, Rafa's won everything and the fact that he hasn't won Miami, I've never thought about it so I actually don't have a good answer off the top pf my head," said Sam Querrey.

Calling Nadal's loss pure bad luck, Isner said:

"It's obviously, its tough, he's done very well at Indian Wells before, we know that, and so just the back to back nature of those two events is very hard on his body and definitely towards the last eight years of his career hardcourts really weren't his thing or playing a lot of matches on hard court weren't his thing so a lot of years he never played Miami, but he has made some finals there."

He added:

"For me the answer is just maybe a bit unlucky. I don't think it's conditions based like he was like the guy was like there weren't any conditions that affected him, I just think a little unlucky, he's made some finals lost against a better player on that day and then after that his body just really wouldn't quite cooperate on playing back to back hardcourt tournaments."

Rafael Nadal opened up about why he doesn't miss tennis much after retirement

Rafael Nadal at the Davis Cup Finals- Source: Getty

Rafael Nadal announced his retirement on October 10, 2024, by sharing a video on his social media handles. He played the final match of his career at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in November. Months after this, he opened up about his life after retirement in a press event, stating that he was feeling happy with the new phase of his life.

Along with this, the former tennis player admitted that he wasn't missing the daily struggles he had faced on tour.

"Well, perfectly. Personally, I am happy and otherwise, trying to adapt to what is a new facet of my life that, for now, I am managing well. At the moment, I do not miss the day-to-day, I am fine as I am," Rafael Nadal said during the Gran Gala de Mundo Deportivo.

After his retirement, Rafael Nadal is currently focusing on his family and his academy. The Spaniard has won 92 singles titles in his career, including 22 Grand Slams and 14 French Open titles, and he also bagged a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing games.