Davis Cup Gives Nadal One Final Chance To Say Goodbye To Tennis

Rafael Nadal, Davis Cup Finals, Malaga
Rafael Nadal with ITF President David Haggerty (photo: Matt McNulty/Getty Images for ITF)

MALAGA/WASHINGTON, November 18, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)

As the 2024 Davis Cup Final 8 gets underway in Malaga this week, much of the pre-event attention has been focused – understandably – on Spain’s favorite son, Rafael Nadal.

The 38-year-old sporting icon has confirmed that the Davis Cup, where he made his international breakthrough as an 18-year-old in 2004, will be the final pro event of his storied and remarkable tennis career.

Nadal, along with the rest of Spanish team captained by David Ferrer – Carlos Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pedro Martinez and Marcel Granollers – will kick off the week-long competition in the Spanish city known for its beautiful beaches against the Netherlands at 5 p.m. CET Tuesday inside Palacio Deportes Martín Carpena.

The remaining quarterfinal ties (all times CET) will match Germany versus Canada on Wednesday at noon; United States versus Australia on Thursday at 10 a.m.; and Italy versus Argentina on Thursday at 5 p.m. Semifinals are scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. The championship tie is Sunday at 4 p.m.

During the Spanish Davis Cup team’s pre-tournament news conference on Monday, Nadal was asked by a reporter how he was feeling, especially now that the week has arrived for his final pro event.

“Hello. Good morning,” Nadal said politely and cheerfully. “Good. I mean, something that I have been thinking for quite a long time, you know. Some on-and-offs during the season. But I tried always to give me one more chance.

“But, yeah, something that I decided with time. So, I’m enjoying the week. No, no, I’m not putting much attention to that. I know it’s going to be a big change in my life, but that’s going to happen later after this week.

“Now I am here on the team, and I am very excited. I am happy for that.”

Much of the six-time Davis Cup champion Spanish team’s time at the podium – and the media’s interest – was focused on Nadal, who has been a member of four of those championship teams, most recently in 2019. Here’s a sampler of what was on Rafa’s mind:

• “I am not here for retiring. I’m here to try to help the team. The most important thing here is try to help the team and to stay all focused on what we have to do, that is play tennis and do it very well, no? Because the rival is going to be difficult, and the conditions are difficult, too. So, then, the emotions going to be for the end, and before and during, it’s to be focused on what we need to do.”

• “I just tried to work as hard as possible the last month and a half, then here, just trying to do my best every single day. Of course, when you are not competing very often, it’s a little bit more, you know, difficult to hold the level in a constant basis, but have good moments, more difficult moments. I think the improvement is there every day, but, I mean, we have a great team on Spain.

“The thing is all these players on the tour are playing very well, having great seasons. Then, it’s the work of the captain to decide what he feels is better for the team.”

• “I am not worried about the next chapter in my life. I have always been happy without tennis, and I had a lot of moments in my life that I was not able to play tennis because of injuries, so I spent a lot of months doing other things. ….

“But at the same time always accept the challenge of an important chance in my life that for everyone, when you have important changes in your life, you need to accept the process and accept that the things at the beginning gonna be a little bit, I don’t know if difficult, but different, and you need to respect the process, no? So I don’t know how the things going to be.”

As the news conference began to wind down, Nadal was asked to describe the one thing that he will miss the most.

“I mean, probably the feeling of competition,” he said. “Go on court and see the fans out there, the atmosphere when you play big matches. And at the end of the day is about the adrenaline that you feel before, at the end, and during the match.

“That’s something that in life you have, I probably gonna have things that gonna make me happier or give me different and more important feelings, but this kind of feeling, adrenaline, it’s difficult to find outside of the professional sport, I think.”

Finally, Nadal was asked what it is that he finds so special about representing Spain in the Davis Cup.

“The feeling to play for your country, the feeling to play for your teammates, and if you have a good relationship with the team, something that happened I think 99 percent of the times of our careers, with David (Ferrer) with Carlos before, I mean Moya, and now with all this team, have been 20 years of playing this competition.

“So, I went through a lot of different generations. The big success in our country is we always had a familiar relationship, no? And that helps to have the feeling that at the end when you win, everybody wins.”

By the numbers

Spain’s quarterfinal opponent, the Netherlands, is captained by former pro Paul Haarhuis and includes Tallon Griekspoor, Botic van de Zandschulp, Jesper De Jong and Wesley Koolhof. Like Nadal, Koolhof, 35, is retiring from pro tennis after the Davis Cup Final 8.

“Quotable …”

“Representing Spain here in the Davis Cup, you know, being with him, share a lot of moments off the court, on the court. And his last moments on court probably is going to be super special. But not for me but for everyone.

“Right now, I’m trying to feel it natural. Let’s see tomorrow. I think that the emotions is going to be there, so I don’t want to put expectations on it. I just want to go there, see how it’s going to be feeling it, and let’s see. But it’s pressure that for me, for the team, and for everyone here in Spain, it’s gong to be an emotional day.”

– Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, asked how emotional he will get this week and what it means being a part of Rafael Nadal’s last tournament.

 

Search

Brigitte Urban
Tennis photographer
camera lens

International Blogs

Dietmar Kaspar

Schwaben Open kehren 2025 in die bayerischen Sommerferien zurück

December 16, 2024

Robert Frank

TCG Charity Cup bringt 13.000 Euro für den guten Zweck

October 16, 2024

Florian Heer

Apostolos Tsitsipas: “Coaching ist etwas Persönliches!”

September 4, 2024

Podcast

Categories