In the last tournament of his career, Rafael Nadal lost to Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-4 when the Davis Cup Finals got underway in Malaga, Spain on Tuesday evening.
Van de Zandschulp’s victory gave the Netherlands a 1-0 lead over the Spaniards in their quarterfinal tie. The fate of Spain’s Davis Cup title bid–and of Nadal’s career–now hinges on Carlos Alcaraz’s result in the second rubber against Tallon Griekspoor. If Alcaraz wins, the tie will come down to a decisive doubles contest.
Nadal, who had not played since the Paris Olympics, never really into the match against Van de Zandschulp. The 38-year-old dropped serve at 4-4 in the first set and quickly fell behind by a double-break in the second. Van de Zandschulp gave one of the breaks back, but he did very well to dig out of a 0-30 hole at 4-3. A routine hold at 5-4 got the 80th-ranked Dutchman across the finish line.
“In the beginning I think we were both nervous,” said Van de Zandschulp, who double-faulted three times in his opening service game. “The first set didn’t go too smoothly; the crowd was tough, understandably. That’s what it’s like to play in Spain against Rafa. He’s the biggest sportsman that (has) ever lived here in Spain. It was a really special event.
“It’s tough to close out a match against him, knowing that it could be his last or not. I was hoping more than going for it, but in the end I just went for it and that helped.”
end of an era