Davis Cup: Rafael Nadal starts farewell event with defeat, Spain trail Holland 0-1

Spain`s Rafael Nadal waves during a tribute to his career at the end of the quarter-final doubles match between Netherlands and Spain during the Davis Cup Finals at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena arena in Malaga, southern Spain. Pic/AFP

Rafael Nadal started the final tournament of his farewell season with a defeat in a quarterfinal match against the Netherlands in the Davis Cup finals here on Tuesday. Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam winner, opened Spain's campaign against the Netherlands with a 4-6, 4-6 defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp.

Van de Zandschulp smashed eight aces to two by Nadal. Though he also served seven double faults compared to two by Nadal, the Dutch star won 77% points on the first serve compared to 67% by the Spanish legend.

By winning this match, Botic van de Zandschulp put Netherlands 1-0 ahead in their quarterfinal tie against Spain. Unfazed by the magnitude of the occasion, The 29-year-old delivered a blow to Nadal's hopes of drawing the curtain on his professional career with a sixth Davis Cup crown.

The weight of keeping Spain going in this event rests on the shoulders of the current World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, who will aim to level the tie when he takes on Tallon Griekspoor in the second singles match of the rubber. If Alcaraz is successful, Wesley Koolhof, who is also retiring from the sport at the end of the event, will partner Van de Zandschulp in a rubber decision against Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers. The winner of the tie will face either Germany or Canada in the semifinals on Friday.

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Alcaraz has said that he would like to win the Davis Cup title for Nadal, who is retiring from tennis.

The former World No.1 Nadal has played only seven tournaments this year after battling injuries over the past couple of seasons. He last competed at the Paris Olympics, where he fell in the second round to Novak Djokovic. A 92-time tour-level champion, who spent 209 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, Nadal has been one of the leading lights on the ATP Tour since turning pro in 2001. His 22 Grand Slam titles tally includes a record 14 crowns at the Roland Garros.

He also has four US Open titles and has won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon twice. Nadal also won Olympic singles and doubles gold and helped Spain to five Davis Cup titles, most recently in 2019.

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