Nadal to miss Monte Carlo tourney

Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday because of a lingering injury, delaying the start of his clay-court tournament preparation ahead of the French Open and extending his absence that began in January. The 37-year-old Nadal had hip surgery last summer and has played only three competitive matches — in Brisbane before skipping the Australian Open — this year. Nadal has won the Monte Carlo Masters 11 times but announced on his social media accounts that he won’t be ready to play when the tournament starts next week. “My body simply won’t allow me,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said in a statement. The Spaniard didn’t mention the French Open — he’s won the clay-court major tournament a record 14 times — in his statement. The event at Roland Garros begins May 25. In early March, Nadal played an exhibition match against 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas but days later pulled out of the Indian Wells tournament. “You have no idea how hard this is for me to not be able to play these events,” he wrote.