Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam winner, did not get a fairytale ending as he lost his farewell match in Spain’s Davis Cup quarter-final tie against Netherlands. The Spaniard lost against the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets 4-6, 4-6.
The 38-year looked a shadow of himself, and hence it is no surprise that the 14-time French Open winner conceded the singles match in straight sets.
Playing in front of his home crowd in Malaga, Nadal tried his best and he did display some sparks of staging a comeback, but in the end, it was the Dutchman, who proved to be too much of a challenge.
In the first set, Nadal gave the Dutch opponent quite a fight, and it was only in the end, that the 29-year-old managed to race ahead.
However, the second set started differently as the Dutchman dominated from the get-go. However, Nadal displayed his trademark stomach for a fight, coming from 1-4 down to making it 3-4.
However, Botic van de Zandschulp maintained his composure to seal the match in straight sets.
Botic van de Zandschulp also registered the fastest serve of the match in the second set, delivering the ball at the speed of 218 kmph.
Earlier, Nadal was expected to play the doubles in the Davis Cup quarterfinal tie, but just hours prior to the match, Spain captain David Ferrer tasked the 38-year-old with the role of playing the singles.
Before the Davis Cup quarterfinal tie, Nadal had faced the Dutchman on just two occasions in his career. He had won both the matches without dropping a single set.
This is now Nadal’s second loss in Davis Cup singles matches. In the 30 matches that he has played in the tournament so far when it comes to singles, he has won a staggering 29 matches.
Before this loss against his Netherlands’ opponent, he had previously suffered a defeat at the hands of Czech Republic’s Jiri Novak in 2004.
After the loss in 2004, Nadal won 29 matches in a row to record the best win percentage for any player (minimum of 15 matches).
It was in October 2024 that Nadal had announced his retirement from professional tennis. The plethora of injuries forced Rafael Nadal’s hand.
He first suffered a hip injury at the start of the 2023 season. Upon returning in 2024, he then faced an abdominal injury.
Before this Davis Cup match, Nadal had previously competed for Spain in the Paris Olympics 2024.
Eventually in October, the tennis legend called time on his career, revealing that Davis Cup would be his last bout on the professional circuit.
