Nadal WD's before Federer's shock with a knee injury



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Rafael Nadal has retired from his semifinal of the BNP Paribas Open with Roger Federer due to a right knee injury.

"I warmed up today and felt that my knee was not good enough to compete at the level I needed to compete. [the] semi-finals, "said Nadal.

Nadal said that he would no longer play before the clay court event of the Monte Carlo Masters in mid-April.

The Nadal-Federer match would have been the 39th meeting of their career and the first in 16 months. Nadal leads the 23-15 rivalry, but Federer has won the last five confrontations.

The Spaniard's right knee exploded in the second set of his 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) victory over Karen Khachanov in the quarter-final on Friday. He twice called a coach, who taped just below Nadal's knee.

Nadal looked disappointed with his latest injury, saying that it was "difficult for me to accept all the things I live in my career", adding that he must be "positive and grateful" for what tennis gave him.

Federer will face Milos Raonic or Dominic Thiem in the Indian Wells final, while he looks for a sixth record title for the tournament.

The information provided by The Associated Press has been used in this report.

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