It could be the last match of the career of the Spaniard, winner of 22 Grand Slams, if his compatriots Alcaraz and Granollers lose the decisive doubles in the evening.
On the verge of retiring at the end of the Davis Cup, tennis legend Rafael Nadal lost the first match of Spain's quarter-final against the Netherlands on Tuesday in Malaga. Defeated 6-4, 6-4 in just under two hours by the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (80th) in his first official match since July, Nadal will see his career end if Spain does not win the scheduled doubles in the rest of the evening, his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz (3rd) having beaten the other Dutchman, Tallon Griekspoor (40th) in the second singles of the evening.
At 38, the Mallorcan left-hander conceded the first defeat of his career on Tuesday against his opponent, whom he had dominated once on clay and once on grass in 2022. Nadal's setback also constitutes his second singles defeat in Davis Cup, a competition he won five times, for 29 victories.
Winner of 22 individual Grand Slam titles and four Davis Cups with Spain (2004, 2009, 2011, 2019), Nadal had not played an official match since his defeat in the quarter-finals of the Olympic doubles tournament, July 31 in Paris. Spain is seeking a seventh Davis Cup title, while the Netherlands is looking to match or better its best performance, a semi-final in 2001.
Never resigned
In the first set, Nadal was quickly put in difficulty by van de Zandschulp on his service games. Clearly less mobile and sharp than in his best years, the Spaniard was broken at 4-4 and then was unable to do anything on the service game of the Dutchman, winner 6-4 of the first set.
Nadal was caught again at the start of the second set, before conceding another break to let his opponent escape at 4-1. Never resigned, the left-hander from Manacor managed to come back from a break behind, arousing the clamors of a crowd largely won over to his cause, but not two, conceding the second round with the same score as the first (6-4) and then quickly leaving the court.
Asked after the match about his chances of playing again if Spain qualified, the fourteen-time winner of Roland-Garros did not do himself any favors: “Sending me on the field as No. 2 didn’t work. So the right decision may be to change. If I were the captain, that's probably what I would do. I wouldn't get played in the next game if we qualify, that's how I feel. But in the end, it's not my decision. By the way, in a way it's a good thing that this is my last match. I lost my first singles in the Davis Cup, and the last. The circle is complete.”
Updated Tuesday November 19 after Carlos Alcaraz's victory and Nadal's reaction.
