STARNBERG, March 27, 2018

Rafael Nadal will play for Spain at the upcoming Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group quarterfinal against Germany held at the Plaza de Toros in Valencia from 6 to 8 April 2018. This was announced by Spanish team captain Sergi Bruguera on Tuesday at the CSD in Madrid.

Nadal will return to the courts for the first time since he retired due to a leg injury in the stage of the final eight of the Australian Open earlier this year.

“Rafa is getting better and better, coming back from injury and practicing more. There is still a week and a half left until the matches begin and there is time,” Bruguera told.

The current World No. 2, who will replace Roger Federer on top of the ATP rankings following the Miami Open, will be joined on home soil by David Ferrer, Feliciano López, Pablo Carreno Busta and Roberto Bautista Agut.

Germany’s Davis Cup captain Michael Kohlmann picked Alexander Zverev, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Jan-Lennard Struff, Maximilian Marterer and Tim Pütz for the tie.

“We have a variety of players in the team and that’s something you cannot underrate,” Zverev commented. “In a lot of matches we will be equal or favourites. Obviously, in the matches against Rafa on clay nobody else is favourite but hopefully on the last day I can give him a hard time there.”

It will be the 17th meeting between the two nations, but the first since 2014. Germany won their last contest in the World Group first round in Frankfurt four years ago, and will hope for a repeat performance as they target a place in the semifinals for the first time in 11 years.

Spain has not progressed to the semifinals since 2012 when they went on to finish runner-up to Czech Republic.