Follow live coverage of Rafael Nadal’s match against Botic Van De Zandschulp at the Davis Cup
MALAGA, Spain — Rafael Nadal will open Spain’s Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands today, Tuesday November 19 in his last tournament before retiring from Tennis.
Spain captain David Ferrer has selected 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal, 38, to face Botic Van De Zandschulp, who beat Carlos Alcaraz at this year’s U.S. Open and idolizes Nadal.
Alcaraz will contest the second singles rubber against Tallon Griekspoor, while Alcaraz and doubles specialist Marcel Granollers will face Wesley Koolhof and van de Zandschulp in the doubles, if it is played.
Both Nadal and Ferrer refused to be drawn on the possibility of Nadal playing in a news conference before the event. “I am not here for retirement,” Nadal said, emphasizing his desire to help Spain, even if that meant not playing at all.
The match gives Nadal the opportunity to extend his remarkable Davis Cup singles record of 29-1, with his sole defeat coming to Czech player Jiri Novak in the 2004 tournament that announced Nadal’s quality to the world.
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He has won the tournament with Spain five times, most recently in 2019.
Spain’s tie against the Netherlands is from 4 p.m. GMT / 11 a.m. ET, and will be shown on Sky Sports and Tennis Channel.
‘Nadal’s involvement answers one question but raises many more’
Analysis from Charlie Eccleshare
The announcement that Nadal will play singles answers the main question surrounding his Davis Cup farewell to tennis, but it raises many more.
Nadal’s practices have looked encouraging in Malaga, but the question of how much captain David Ferrer could keep sentiment out of his selections remained. After all, unlike if Nadal had played doubles, he could lose with Spain still winning the tie through Carlos Alcaraz, first in the singles and then with Marcel Granollers in the doubles.
What happens if Nadal loses but Spain win the tie? Would he then keep his place for the semifinal?
Atmosphere-wise, will this match feel more like a testimonial than an actual tennis match? A celebration or, if things are going badly, a wake?
Tennis fans spent most of the clay-court season second-guessing ourselves about Nadal’s level and potential at his relatively advanced age, constantly jumping from thinking he was finished to feeling that maybe he had one last big win in him. This is the nature of decline: the peaks don’t disappear, but finding something close to them consistently does.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are hoping to propel Spain to the semifinals. (Jorge Guerrero / AFP via Getty Images)
There’ll likely be a similar lurching between different emotions tonight, especially as win or lose nobody knows whether or not this will be Nadal’s final match.
What we do know is that Botic Van De Zandschulp will be a very awkward opponent. Just ask Nadal’s Davis Cup teammate Carlos Alcaraz, who van de Zandschulp beat in straight sets at the U.S. Open a few months ago. He would relish playing the role of party pooper again in front of one of the most partisan crowds the sport will have ever seen, against his tennis idol.
As for Nadal, it all comes down to this. Or maybe it doesn’t.
(Oscar J. Barroso / Europa Sports via Getty Images)
