22-time Grand Slam Champion Rafael Nadal is set to retire after the Davis Cup and the 38-year-old suffered a loss against Botic van de Zandschulp in what could be his final match
Rafael Nadal struggled to hold back tears as he was beaten in Spain’s opening quarter-final match at the Davis Cup in Malaga.
Nadal announced last month that he will be retiring from tennis after the Davis Cup finals, with the Spaniard admitting the last two years of his career had been particularly “difficult” due to injury problems.
The 38-year-old was hoping to pick up one last victory on home soil, but he suffered a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to the Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp. The loss was only Nadal’s second singles loss in Davis Cup history, with the first coming on his debut 20 years ago against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Novak.
Reflecting on the result, an emotional Nadal said: “I went on court and I came here with the goal to help the team the way that I could help. Today I was selected to be on the court, so I tried to help the team to put a win out there, but was not possible.
“And that’s it. In this moment of my career, I can’t complain much. I go there, I tried my best, I try to enjoy and play with the right energy, with the right attitude. Just didn’t work. And there was a possibility that that would happen.
“Of course it has been an emotional day, nerves before what can be my last singles match as a professional. That’s the way that I felt. And then, yeah, of course the emotions, feeling the National Anthem for the last time as a professional have been very special.
“And then of course a little bit of mixed feelings makes things a little bit more difficult. I tried to do my best. I tried to, at the same time, to stay as positive as possible in every single moment, to play with the right energy. It was not enough. Congrats to Botic. That’s all.”
Nadal’s teammate Carlos Alcaraz paid tribute to the 22-time Grand Slam champion ahead of the event, claiming his “farewell” was more important than the Davis Cup itself. He said: “Rafa’s farewell is more important than the Davis Cup.
“There are Davis Cups every year, but there is only one ‘farewell’ to a tennis legend. Doing it in a tournament so special for him, which has meant so much to him since that victory in 2004 against Andy Roddick. It will be very special and I hope he can retire with the title.
“This Davis Cup is probably the most special tournament of my career. My passion for representing Spain is one of the greatest things in the world. Having Rafa at my side, knowing that it is his last tournament, makes it much more special.”
Spain failed to recover from losing the first rubber. Carlos Alcaraz beat Dutch No.1 Tallon Griekspoor, but he and Marcel Granollers lost the deciding doubles clash to Van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof.
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