Valiant Rafael Nadal goes down fighting in ‘farewell’ clash

Rafael Nadal lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in the singles clash when Spain locked horns with the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup 2024. On Tuesday, November 19, van de Zandschulp took the Dutch off to a flying start, winning 6-4, 6-4 at the Palacio Deportes Martin Carpena in Malaga. Earlier after announcing his decision to retire after the Davis Cup, it remains to be seen if Nadal plays another match.
Rafael Nadal farewell, Davis Cup Finals Highlights
Spain needed to win both their matches to make their way through to the semi-final. Germany and Canada will be up against each other in the other quarters of the indoor hard-court tournament. For Nadal to play another singles match, Spain need to qualify for the semis.
Earlier this year, Botic van de Zandschulp defeated Carlos Alcaraz and knocked the four-time Grand Slam champion out of the US Open. This time around, it was his turn to take down Nadal, who once held the record for most majors in men’s tennis before Novak Djokovic surpassed him.
Nadal, playing his first official match since the Paris Olympics where he lost to Novak Djokovic, looked a pale shadow of his glorious self. He came into the tournament, having won 29 successive matches in a row in the Davis Cup. It was at the age of 17 back in 2004 when Nadal lost his only match in the Davis Cup, and his winning streak has come to an end.
Van de Zandschulp looked nervous at the start of the opening set as he made three double faults in the second game. But he somehow survived the early scare to win the game and make it 1-1. At 4-4, the Dutchman put Nadal under pressure with a crucial break of serve. Nadal tried to attack the net, but his opponent pulled off a clever forehand down the line to have the last laugh.
Nadal struggled with his groundstrokes and Van de Zandschulp took advantage of it in the opening set. He fetched three set points and converted the first of them. Van de Zandschulp pulled off 10 winners, dominating Nadal, who only hit four of them. Van de Zandschulp also hit five aces and had a win percentage of 90 from his first serves.
Van de Zandschulp made a thumping start in the second set, breaking Nadal’s serve early. At 30-40, Nadal tried to force a deuce with a forehand down the line, but made an error to concede the break.
Nadal, however, kept showing his skills to stay alive. But he dropped his serve again to go 1-4. With his backs against the walls, the legend earned a break back to keep breathing. Then for the first time in the match, Nadal won back-to-back games to make it 3-4, but the job was not done yet.
At 3-4, 30-0, Nadal had a golden chance to get the second break back, but Van de Zandschulp won four points in a row to hold serve. Van de Zandschulp then held his serve to finish the match in an hour and 52 minutes.