Rafael Nadal loses to Botic van de Zandschulp in potential final match
In emotional scenes in Spain, Rafael Nadal, in his final professional tennis event, lost to Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands in the Davis Cup Final 8 in Málaga.
The crowd tried to will the 22-time grand slam singles champion to victory, but van de Zandschulp prevailed against the Spaniard, 6-4, 6-4.
Whether Nadal’s career continues past Tuesday depends on if Spain advances beyond the quarterfinals of the international team tennis event.
Rafael Nadal serves during a French Open match in 2018. Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images 
A young Nadal poses with his trophies at a tennis club in Mallorca, Spain. He was coached by his uncle Toni, who persuaded him to play left-handed despite being naturally right-handed. Frank Coppi/Popperfoto/Getty Images 
Nadal, 13, competes at a junior tournament in France in 2000. Manuel Blondeau/AOP.Press/Corbis/Getty Images 
Nadal plays at the Hamburg Masters in Germany in 2003. Nadal’s powerful forehand, hit with extreme top spin, would become his signature shot. Friedemann Vogel/Bongarts/Getty Images 
Nadal rides a dolphin at the Miami Seaquarium in March 2004. Al Bello/Getty Images 
Nadal, second from right, poses with other members of Team Spain after they won the Davis Cup in December 2004. With Nadal, from left, are Juan Carlos Ferrero, Tommy Robredo, Jordi Arrese and Carlos Moya. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images 
Nadal signs autographs at the Australian Open in January 2005. Nick Laham/Getty Images 
Nadal reacts after he won the French Open final in June 2005. He defeated Mariano Puerta to claim his first grand slam title. Christophe Ena/AP 
Nadal, top left, plays Roger Federer during a special “Battle of the Surfaces” tennis match in Palma, Spain, in May 2007. Half of the court was on clay, Nadal’s specialty, and half was on grass, Federer’s specialty. Nadal won the three-set exhibition in front of his home crowd. Dani Cardona/Reuters 
Nadal lifts the Philippe Chatrier Trophy after defeating Federer to win the French Open in June 2007. It was his third straight French Open title. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images 
Nadal and Federer leave the court together after the Wimbledon final in July 2007. Federer had just won for the fifth straight year. Anja Niedringhaus/AP 
Nadal poses for an underwater portrait in Monaco in 2007. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images 
Nadal and Federer play an epic Wimbledon final in July 2008. Nadal won a five-set thriller that lasted nearly five hours, ending Federer’s reign in what some called the greatest tennis match they had seen. Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images 
Nadal celebrates after defeating Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final. It was Nadal’s first Wimbledon title. Alessia Pierdomenico/Pool/Getty Images 
Nadal, center, listens to the Spanish national anthem after winning gold at the Beijing Olympics in August 2008. He defeated Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez in the final. Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, seen on the right, won the bronze. Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images 
Nadal hugs Federer after defeating him in the Australian Open final in February 2009. The two rivals played each other 40 times. Nine of those matches were grand slam finals. Andrew Brownbill/AP 
Nadal and Federer are seated for a group photo with other stars at the ATP World Tour Finals in November 2009. Standing, from left, are Juan Martin del Potro, Djokovic, Andy Murray, Fernando Verdasco, Nikolay Davydenko and Robin Soderling. Julian Finney/Getty Images 
Nadal reacts after winning a Davis Cup match in December 2009. David Ramos/AP 
Nadal celebrates in the locker room with Spain’s football team after it won the FIFA World Cup in July 2010. At right is Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Alex Livesey/FIFA/Getty Images 
Nadal hits a shot in the US Open final in September 2010. Nadal defeated Djokovic to win his first US Open and complete a career grand slam. David Saffran/Icon Sports Wire/Corbis/Getty Images 
Nadal raises his arms in victory after winning the 2010 US Open final. Only seven other male players in history have won all four major championships. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images 
Nadal and Federer play on a floating court to promote the city of Doha, Qatar, ahead of the Qatar Open in 2011. Ho New/Qatar Tennis Federation/Reuters 
Nadal’s French Open dominance is evident by the inscriptions on the trophy in June 2013. He had just won his fourth straight French and the eighth of his career. Christophe Ena/AP 
Nadal, right, and David Ferrer rest between sets at the Paris Masters in November 2013. Charles Platiau/Reuters 
Nadal arrives for a match at the ATP World Tour Finals in November 2013. Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters 
Nadal, back center, attends a ceremony in Palma, Spain, where he was named a “Favorite Son of Mallorca” in 2014. Jaime Reina/AFP/Getty Images 
Nadal delivers a serve during an Australian Open match in 2015. Hannah Peters/Getty Images 
Nadal carries Spain’s flag during the Olympics opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images 
Nadal celebrates after defeating Stan Wawrinka to win the 2017 French Open. Julian Finney/Getty Images 
Nadal ties his headband before a Wimbledon semifinal match in 2018. Daniel Leal/Pool/AFP/Getty Images 
An advertisement is seen behind Nadal during an Australian Open match in January 2019. Aly Song/Reuters 
Nadal warms up before entering the court for the French Open final in June 2019. Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images 
Nadal plays a forehand during a Wimbledon semifinal in July 2019. Adrian Dennis/Pool/Getty Images 
Nadal reacts after defeating Daniil Medvedev to win the US Open in September 2019. Nadal played in 30 grand slam finals and won 22 of them. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP 
Nadal poses with his wife, Maria Francisca Perello, after they were married in Mallorca in October 2019. Fundacion Rafa Nadal/Getty Images 
Nadal rests between games at the Australian Open in 2020. Fred Lee/Getty Images 
People in Paris watch Nadal and Alexander Zverev play a French Open semifinal in June 2022. Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images 
Nadal celebrates after he defeated Casper Ruud to win the 2022 French Open. It was his 22nd grand slam title and the last of his career. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images 
Nadal receives the Camino Real Award from Spain’s King Felipe in September 2022. Jesus Hellin/Europa Press/Getty Images 
Nadal teams up with Federer for a doubles match at the Laver Cup in London in September 2022. It was the final match of Federer’s career. Julian Finney/Getty Images for Laver Cup 
Federer and Nadal tear up after their Laver Cup match. Ella Ling/Shutterstock 
Nadal waves goodbye to fans and receives a thunderous ovation after he lost to Zverev in the first round of the French Open in May 2024. His all-time record at the French Open was 112-4. “I don’t know if it’s going to be last time I’m going to be here in front of you,” he said in an on-court interview after the match. “I am not 100% sure, but if it is the last time, I enjoyed it.” Thibault Camus/AP 
Nadal carries the Olympic flame on a boat during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in July 2024. With him are a few famous former Olympians: from left, Carl Lewis, Nadia Comăneci and Serena Williams. Alex Pantling/Getty Images 
Nadal celebrates after winning an Olympics match in July 2024. He lost in the second round to Djokovic, who would go on to win the gold. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images In pictures: Tennis legend Rafael Nadal Prev Next
Should Carlos Alcaraz defeat Tallon Griekspoor in the second match of the day, it will hinge on the result of the doubles match to close out play later in the day. If Griekspoor wins, the Dutch will advance.
Emotions were running high before a ball was hit Tuesday.
It’s the end of an era for tennis fans world-wide with Spanish great Rafael Nadal announcing his upcoming retirement from the sport. The 38-year-old from Majorca whose 14 French Open crowns earned him the nickname of “the King of Clay” announced November’s Davis Cup will be his final professional tournament. CNN takes a look back at his legendary two decades at the pinnacle of the sport.
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The Málaga crowd roared for the 38-year-old Nadal when he was introduced with Team Spain.
As the television broadcast panned the crowd, it showed some spectators who appeared to already be in tears.
Nadal, too, had tears in his eyes as the Spanish national anthem played, and the crowd chanted “Rafa!” after the anthem.
Nadal, who took the court for the first match of the day, showed what fans have seen his entire career. He unleashed his classic fist bumps – and showed his signature mental fortitude in never giving up until the final point despite being down.
Meanwhile, the Dutchman held his nerve. Van de Zandschulp already had experience in getting the best of a Spaniard on a hard court this year, having upset Alcaraz in straight sets in the second round of the US Open.
After match point, Nadal received a standing ovation from the crowd as he waved, blew kisses, and clapped to all who showed their admiration for the Spanish hero.
Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain line up for the national anthems ahead of Tuesday’s Davis Cup quarterfinal. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for ITF
Source: edition.cnn.com