Rafael Nadal will play a singles match at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, which will be his last professional tennis tournament.
Nadal will retire from tennis at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. He will represent Spain alongside Carlos Alcaraz, Pedro Martinez, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Marcel Granollers.
Spain's Team Captain, David Ferrer, therefore, faced the difficult task of choosing the correct players for the team's matches. Speaking during the press conference ahead of the tournament, Nadal admitted that if he wouldn't be ready to play, he wouldn't want to.
He also stated that he came to Malaga to help Spain win and not to focus on his own retirement. Still, it seems that Nadal will play in the first singles match of Spain's quarter-final tie against the Netherlands.
Ahead of the tournament, Nadal said that whether he would play in singles or not is not a question for him but instead for the Team Captain.
"I mean, that's a question for the captain, not for me (smiling). Well, 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 on 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 in Spain. So 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."
It seems that David Ferrer has now made a decision, as MARCA reported that Nadal will be nominated for Spain's first singles match against the Netherlands, and his first opponent should be Botic van de Zandschulp.
Van de Zandschulp is a former World No. 22 on the ATP Tour, and Spanish fans certainly know him well, as he stunned Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 US Open.
The young Spaniard should then also be in action, as he should play in Spain's second singles match, very likely taking on Tallon Griekspoor.
According to the reports, Nadal might also play in a doubles match if needed. The 2024 Davis Cup Finals are played in the best-of-three matches format, with two match wins needed to win the tie.
That means that if Nadal or Alcaraz loses their singles tie, the doubles match might be decided, and it could be Nadal teaming up with Marcel Granollers in the doubles.
Nadal has experience playing doubles, having won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. If Spain wins this tie, they will play the winner of the tie between Germany, without Alexander Zverev, and Canada, without Felix Auger-Aliassime.
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