 "Rafael Nadal of Spain plays a shot during a practice session, ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016. AP/PTI")
Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal retired from a Miami Open match after feeling "dizzy" in stifling conditions.
Nadal called for the doctor twice before quitting. He was then trailing 0-3 in the deciding set against World No 94 Damir Dzumhur. This is also the first time in six years that Nadal has retired from a match.
"Hopefully it's nothing, it's just the extreme conditions," Nadal was quoted as saying by the BBC on Sunday.
"I called the doctor a couple of times but I felt I was not safe there, so I decided to go."
Dzumhur was ahead of Nadal with 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 after an hour and 50 minutes when Nadal decided to quit.
"Everything was fine until the end of the first set," added the 29-year-old.
"I started to feel not very good, it was getting worse and worse and worse. In the second set I realised that I was not able to keep playing. I tried to resist but I got a little bit scared to be too dizzy. I wanted to finish the match but I seriously couldn't."
The last match Nadal retired from was the 2010 Australian Open quarter-final against Britain's Andy Murray.
