As he lives his last days as a professional Tennis player, Rafael Nadal assured Saturday that he would only play the final phase of the Davis Cup if he felt “ready”.
Rafael Nadal, who must bid farewell to tennis during the final phase of the Davis Cup next week in Malaga (November 19-24), assured Saturday that he would only play if he felt “ready”. “If I don’t feel ready, I will be the first to talk to the captain (of the Spanish team, David Ferrer Editor’s note). I told them not to make a decision based on the fact that this is my last week as a professional tennis player,” Nadal said in a video released by the Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) on the ATP website.
Spain, with whom Nadal won the Davis Cup five times (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2019), will face the Netherlands in the quarter-finals and could then meet Germany or Canada in the semi-finals, before a possible final against the Italy of Jannik Sinner, defending champion. Currently 155th in the ATP, Nadal, 38, has not appeared in competition since the 2024 Paris Olympic Games played at Roland-Garros, the scene of the Grand Slam tournament on clay that the Majorcan has won fourteen times.
Alcaraz at his side
He was eliminated in the second round of the singles tournament by his great rival and future Olympic champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-1. Associated with Carlos Alcaraz, he reached the quarter-finals of the doubles tournament before losing to the Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram (6-4, 6-2). Alcaraz, eliminated Friday from the ATP Masters by the German Alexander Zverev, presented this final phase of the Davis Cup as “one of the most special tournaments I will play in my career”. “This is Rafa’s last tournament, I will be by his side for his last moments on a tennis court,” insisted the world No.3.
Morocco
