Rafael Nadal has officially entered retirement after Spain were dumped out of the Davis Cup Finals.
The former world No. 1 suffered defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp in likely his last-ever match before Carlos Alcaraz won the second singles match to take their tie to a decisive doubles rubber.
But Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers lost to Van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof, who is also retiring this week.
The Dutch team broke Spanish hearts as they won their quarter-final tie, with Van de Zandschulp and Koolhof edging out the home team 7-6(4) 7-6(3) in a nail-biting, two-hour and 14-minute match.
While Koolhof’s career lives to see another day, Nadal has officially hung up his racket. Last month, the 38-year-old confirmed the Davis Cup Finals would be his last-ever tournament.
He repeatedly stated that he wouldn’t take to the court unless he felt ready. But the final decision came down to Spanish captain David Ferrer, who picked the 22-time Grand Slam champion for the first singles rubber.
Nadal showed flashes of his vintage best but he ultimately lost 6-4 6-4, giving the Netherlands the edge.
Alcaraz kept his team – and Nadal’s career – alive by storming back to beat Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(0) 6-3. Afterwards, he said: “I did it for Rafa.”
The world No. 3 was back out on court half an hour later with Granollers as they fought to delay their compatriot’s retirement. The Spanish team lost a close first set in a tiebreak but they were the first to break, taking a 2-1 lead in the second set.
They couldn’t maintain their lead and the Dutch duo got back on serve. Granollers served to force another tiebreak but one loose point put them in trouble, giving Van de Zandschulp and Koolhof a mini-break.
They only needed one match point to get the job done, booking the Netherlands’ spot in the semi-final and officially turning Nadal into a retired player.
But the Dutch team got their wish – Koolhof got to extend his own career until at least Friday. The former doubles world No. 1 is also ending his career at the Davis Cup Finals and admitted he played one of the best matches of his life.
“To be fair, I didnt really think about it. I mean, I knew before the match we were really happy to be 1-1,” he said.
“I knew obviously it’s gonna be just like last year, 1-1, deciding doubles against Carlos and Marcel. Unbelievable team, unbelievable players. But I didn’t really think much about it going to potentially be my last match.”
Asked if he still wanted to retire, Koolhof joked: “Still pretty sure. I already made a joke to the team, ‘Am I gonna play the next match?’ This is one of my best matches of my career, just kidding. Looking forward to the next one but yeah, I’m still retiring.”
