- Rafael Nadal lost his match for Spain in the Davis Cup against the Netherlands
- If Spain lose the tie, it will have been the final match of Nadal’s superb career
Rafael Nadal insisted he was selected on merit and not sentiment, as he waited on Tuesday night to discover whether he had played the final match of his extraordinary career.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion was picked by captain David Ferrer to begin Spain’s Davis Cup campaign against the Netherlands, but after a 6-4, 6-4 defeat by Botic van de Zandschulp the tie came down to a late-night deciding doubles match.
It was a controversial selection, ahead of the dependable Roberto Bautista Agut, but with Nadal playing his final event before retirement it would have taken a brave man to deny the 11,500 crowd the man who some had paid €20,000 (£16,710) to see.
‘I really believe that David put on the field the player who he feels had the best chance to win,’ said Nadal, 38.
‘Since the beginning I told him he doesn’t need to feel any pressure to put me in.
‘Of course, putting myself on the field to play the first match was a risk. But that’s the work of the captain. I’m sure he made the decision thinking what’s the best for the team, not for myself.’
Rafael Nadal lost his singles match in Spain’s Davis Cup match against the Netherlands
Nadal was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Botic van de Zandschulp in what could be his final ever game
The decision from Spain captain David Ferrer (right) to pick Nadal over Roberto Bautista Agut (left) had been a major talking point ahead of the clash in Malaga on Tuesday evening
If this was indeed Nadal’s last bow, then the pre-match spectacle was worthy of such an momentous occasion. The Spain players trooped out one by one, then in the tunnel there appeared a slash of white in the darkness and the most famous headband in the world emerged.
As fans in the arena bellowed along to the tune of the wordless Spanish national anthem, emotion was etched across Nadal’s cragged face. During the warm-up the announcer went through all of Nadal’s Grand Slam titles and each was cheered to the steel rafters. It took a while, especially when they reached the French Open. ‘Campeon de Roland Garros dos mil cinco [2005]’ — ‘OLE!’ – ‘Dos mil siete [2007]’ — ‘OLE!’ and so on 14 times.
As a celebration of this champion of champions it was breathtaking but once the serious business began, it became clear Nadal was in trouble.
He said: ‘Of course it has been an emotional day, nerves before what could be my last singles match as a professional. That’s the way that I felt.
‘And then, of course the emotions, feeling the national anthem for the last time was very special. A little bit of mixed feelings made things a little bit more difficult.
‘But we went on court, I lived that moment, tried to do my best — it was not enough.’
He covered the court well enough but struggled to get much thrust behind his groundstrokes, his forehands lacking their former fizz. It was his first singles defeat in the Davis Cup since his debut in 2004.
Nadal insisted he was selected on merit rather than sentiment, but struggled during the clash
The 38-year-old did admit that he was ‘ready to close the circle’ after he suffered the defeat
‘Probably today the decision to put me on the court didn’t work,’ he admitted.
‘If I would be the captain, probably I will not pick myself the next round if we go through, that’s my feeling.
‘It’s in some ways good if that was my last match — I lost my first match in the Davis Cup and my last one. So we close the circle.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .