Fans around the world hoped that Rafael Nadal’s retirement would be better. The Davis Cup Finals in Malaga were the last official event of his career and the Spanish team’s dream was to give another title to its greatest champion.
Despite the relentless support of the crowd, Spain’s run ended already in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands. The choice to field Rafa in singles proved to be a total failure, because the 22-time Grand Slam champion is no longer in a position to keep up with certain rhythms.
After watching all the practice sessions in the morning, captain David Ferrer preferred to use Nadal against Botic van de Zandschulp instead of Roberto Bautista Agut, leaving Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers to play the decisive doubles.
The 14-time French Open champion was defeated in straight sets, while Alcaraz leveled the score by defeating Tallon Griekspoor despite some difficulties in the first set. Spain lost the decisive doubles in two tiebreaks and had to sadly abandon the competition already on the first day.
The former world number 1 received a beautiful tribute at the end of the tie against the Netherlands and his legacy will remain forever, but the feeling is that the situation could have…
