Nadal’s career comes full circle: “In some ways it’s good: I lost my first Davis Cup match and I lost my last match”

The 38-year-old says he would not pick himself in the next match if Spain somehow manage to come from behind to beat the Netherlands

Simon Cambers

November 19, 2024

If it wasn’t the way he would have liked to have gone out, then there was a certain poignancy to Rafael Nadal’s last ever match as a professional.

“In some ways, it’s good,” he said, after losing 6-4, 6-4 to Botic van de Zandschulp in an eventual 2-1 defeat by the Netherlands in the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday.. “I lost my first Davis Cup match and I lost my last one, so we close the circle.”

The 38-year-old is now officially retired – Carlos Alcaraz won the second singles but could not repeat the heroics in the doubles – and so that’s that for one of the best sportsmen ever to come out of Spain, in any sport.

Nadal’s defeat also ended a run of 32 straight wins in Davis Cup, 29 in singles.

“Given my level, I wouldn’t choose myself”

On a slick surface in Malaga, Nadal had the support of the home crowd but his timing was not quite there, not surprisingly given that he had not played competitively since the Olympics in August. He had trained well, he said, and was ready to go, but could not produce anything like his best, while the emotions of the day were tough to handle, too.

Speaking after the match, but before Alcaraz played the second singles, Nadal admitted that if he were the captain (and not David Ferrer), he would not pick himself in the semis.

“If I were the captain, I wouldn’t play the next match. Given my level, I wouldn’t choose myself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to play. Today’s match may have been my last individual match. He made the decision to play, that’s why he’s the captain. I didn’t put any pressure on him. The decision was made for me to play and we knew there was a risk. I (might) not win the point.

” I can not say I’m sorry because this is sport. I tried as I have always tried. One can not control the level you have. I already said that I would discard myself if I did not see myself ready but I have trained well enough.”

“I didn’t have the mental agility to make decisions without thinking”

Nadal said he would not give himself too hard a time over his performance.

“I knew it could be my last match as a professional and the emotions were difficult to manage,” he said. “I didn’t have the ability to read the game quickly enough to feel in control. The points went by very quickly and there was no time to think.

“When you’ve spent so much time out of competition, everything is decided by small details. I’m not in the same (automatic mode) as players who are on the circuit. Today won’t be the day for me to criticise myself. I didn’t have the mental agility to make decisions without thinking.”