Shortly after completing his stay at Indian Wells, Rafael Nadal flew across the United States to Miami, where he immediately begun preparation for the second Masters 1000 event of the season. However, things quickly took a turn for the worst when it was revealed that the world No. 3 had taken a serious fall during one of his practice sessions and turned his left ankle.

While there was some concern that Nadal would not be fit to play at the tournament, the Spaniard revealed that he still expects to compete at the event.

“It’s for sure I’m going to be on court on Friday,” Nadal told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “The thing is, I don’t know how well I’m going to be prepared for then. I hope to be ready. It’s an important tournament for me.”

At the time of the fall, Nadal was certain he would be unable to perform in Miami, yet a few days of rest and treatment has changed his mind.

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“In the beginning, I thought that was going to be the end of the tournament,” Nadal said. “I am confident I’m going to be ready.”

Nadal took to court on Tuesday to practice and claimed to have not been bothered by his ankle at all. He did not even require an X-ray or MRI.

“I feel pain,” Nadal said. “It’s obviously normal. I was a little bit limited today, but I was able to practice one hour and a half, which is more than I expected yesterday when it happened.”

With the injury woe somewhat behind him, Nadal hopes to win his first career title in Miami. Following an opening round loss in Doha to kick off the season, Nadal reached the quarter-final in Melbourne, the semi-final in Rio, and won Buenos Aires before recently losing to Milos Raonic in the Indian Wells quarter-final.

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