As the Spanish national anthem rang out for what would be the final time in his career, Rafael Nadal could not stop his emotions from flowing. Tears welled up in his eyes and his hands visibly shook by his side. Finally, the last stage of this epic 30-year journey had begun, a moment he never wanted to arrive but had no choice but to face. Nadal’s audience responded to his outpouring of emotions, clear to see on the big screen, with thunderous chants of “Rafa! Rafa!”
Not even those deafening, constant roars from the crowd could help to push Nadal beyond the limits of his bruised and broken body. Despite fighting for every last point with the diligence and desperation that has defined him, Nadal was comprehensively defeated 6-4, 6-4 by Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening Davis Cup rubber between Spain and the Netherlands, a match that would turn out to be the last of his professional career.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Spain fell 2-1 to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup. Spain had looked to the new leading light of Spanish tennis, Carlos Alcaraz, to find a way back and the 21-year-old pulled them level with a 7-6 (0), 6-3 win over Tallon Griekspoor. “I did it for Rafa,” he said.
Alcaraz then returned to the court for the decisive doubles match alongside Marcel Granollers. In an incredibly tense, high-quality battle, Wesley Koolhof and Van de Zandschulp closed out the match with a dramatic 7-6 (4) 7-6 (3), win. Nadal watched on from courtside in Spain’s team box, cheering and coaching his teammates until the final point.
In the past few days, as the tie neared, speculation raged about exactly what form Nadal’s participation in Málaga would take. He had not played an official match since the Olympic Games nearly four months ago, so the consensus was that he would only take to the court in doubles. After arriving earlier than most players and training diligently, including a set with Alcaraz on Monday night, Nadal was given the green light to compete in singles.
“Things can go well, can go bad,” he said. “Putting myself on the field to play the first match was a risk, but that’s the work of the captain, no? He has to make decisions, and David [Ferrer], I’m sure he make the decision thinking what’s the best for the team, not for myself.”
What followed was an occasion like no other. Nadal composed himself as he warmed up with Van de Zandschulp; the MC opted to slowly, pointedly read out every significant achievement accrued by each player individually.
For Van de Zandschulp, the world No 80, it was a short and understated lead-in. Nadal’s introduction, however, was practically a PowerPoint presentation. After each of his major titles – 22 grand slam titles, two Olympic gold medals, five Davis Cup victories – were read out, the crowd responded with an exclamation of “Ayy”. It took several minutes for the announcer to work through one of the greatest resumes a tennis player has compiled.
The spectacle that followed, however, bore little resemblance to those legendary times of old. It quickly became clear that Nadal was severely limited. His movement was poor, particularly towards his backhand wing and his forehand continually dropped short, allowing Van de Zandschulp to overpower him. He struggled badly with his return of serve.
There were still moments the 11,000-strong audience will never forget; in the second set, he chased down a lob and responded with an overhead skyhook, his back to the net, before sending the fans to their feet by winning the point. Down 4-1 and a double break, Nadal pulled a break back through his sheer force of will. Many times in the past, that would have been the start of an epic comeback. This time, he did not come close.
Before the tie, Nadal had made a point of noting that he was here to play and help the team – not simply to finish his career. In reality, Spain’s best team configuration would have placed Nadal in a doubles-only capacity. But he is one of the greatest of all time and the sight of him stepping on to the court for one last tussle was more meaningful to the crowd than any win.
